


The Golden WEAPON

by Xardogn



Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: AU, Altered Events, Crisis Core, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-01-18 04:57:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 191,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1415887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xardogn/pseuds/Xardogn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Golden People wished for a new Champion, one to save all those fated to be killed. He was created from the hopes of the living people, so that they too might taste salvation. And thus, the Golden Weapon was born.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prelude

The Planet knew.

Deep within the earth, the Lifestream stirred, rising to the sense of an impending new threat.

There were whispers across the land, that terrible things were about to happen. The Golden People had long since left the world and could no longer protect it from the wrath of The Calamity.

She was rising again.

Jenova.

It was of course, the arrogant humans' fault, their thirst and desire for power driving Her from Her long-forgotten slumber. They had not learned and now they had spelled doom upon the Planet itself.

It was not like it was defenseless-the Planet had Weapons at its disposal, fierce and nearly unbeatable creatures that rose from the oceans and mountains to annihilate any threat. They were however, mindless drones and did not distinguish between humans who committed terrible sins, and those who did not.

There were voices in the Lifestream that could not bear that result. They knew Weapon was a last resort and that maybe this way, the Planet could somehow be saved from the path of destruction, but it seemed far too cruel. The Planet was not the only one victimized by the rampage of these poisonous humans-some of them did only what they could to survive, and true to human spirit, allied themselves with the highest power.

In the end, the Planet could not give up on the humans which plagued it so. Its Golden People cried out, begging that hope still existed, somehow, somewhere. So…their prayers were answered.

A new Weapon was born, but this one born of the hopes and dreams of the Lifestream, one to save instead of destroy. It was a long shot, but none were alive who would know the outcome of this choice.

For now the Planet would wait, and the people would place their fiercest hopes on this new Golden Weapon so that someday, all life could achieve peace.


	2. You Are a Failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic is not ship heavy, but there are moments of Cloud/Zack and Cloud/Reno later on.

Professor Hojo of the Science Research Department always loathed SOLDIER recruitment time. It not only inundated him with paperwork, but also drew his attention from his precious projects to a bunch of soft-headed lugs whose mako enhancements were probably worth more then their internal organs.

He entertained himself with the thought that maybe he would find something unusual and worthy of his notice.

The Science department, of course, got the final say on whether the prospective cadets passed, as mako enhancements were an integral part of the process, and rejection could easily spell doom on its members. Therefore, after the testing for mako receptivity was done, the files were sent to Hojo's (and his scientists) computers, where they awaited the final seal of approval. Or, if one was unlucky, rejected from the program and enlisted into the standing army.

He hit the button on the computer to scroll through the profiles. Average, all across the board. Average. Slightly better test scores. Good receptivity. That one wasn't going to make it. Above average. Normal. Normal. Normal.

Hojo froze in his chair. Had he really seen that, or was it a trick of his overworked eyes? He scrolled back twice to another profile. A cadet, 15, from Nibelheim, of rather short stature. Blond hair and blue eyes-fairly common among people from snowy regions, he would guess-and his written test scores were decent. His physical scores however, were abysmal, and that was putting it nicely. Hojo sneered, surprised the child had even made it this far without being killed.

That's not what caught his eye, though. Hojo pulled up the next page, the one about his mako scores. And they were….his fingers were twitching uncontrollably as he gripped the edge of his desk. Here he was, thinking the SOLDIER exams a waste of time, and yet the perfect  _opportunity_  had came out of nowhere.

He feverishly dove into his old archives, bringing up two files: one was Sephiroth's ( _his perfect, beautiful soldier)_ and the other was Vincent Valentine's. The thought briefly crossed his mind as to whether the Turk was still alive, but it mattered little. The pitiful man was so consumed with guilt he would never make it out of that coffin, and Hojo had made sure of that.

No, he shook his head. That wasn't important. Hojo instead pulled the cadet's profile up next to theirs to compare mako receptivity levels (at least for Valentine, after his experiment). He stared at the screen, astonished that he was correct, though he always was-this cadet's scores far surpassed those of either specimen!

_It is incredible! A true miracle. This boy..this child from Nibelheim has somehow beat my perfect soldier! This is…unheard of._ He gave another look to the profile, but nothing incredible stood out. Nibelheim was a reactor town, but that did not account for anything. How could someone with such amazing mako scores be of so little consequence? Everything seemed to point to this child's weakness, and yet…

That glow had returned to his eyes again, akin to a monster catching sight of its prey. This…he had not felt this fire for a long time. This beautiful, wonderful fire. The cadet would make a wonderful specimen, perhaps a candidate for the continuation of the Jenova project…

Hojo rubbed his hands together, trying to calm his breathing. He was a scientist, and thus not subject to emotional instability like other lesser life-forms.  _Time to think._  With mako scores as extreme as these, there would be no way he could fail the SOLDIER program. The cadet was far on the weak side, but after the treatments, that would be a useless observation. His abilities would skyrocket, and while he would still be under Hojo's supervision, his specimen would be far from his reach. No, he needed the boy all to himself. His lip curled at the thought of other unsightly hands tampering with his project.

Shame that there was no war anymore. It was easy to  _disappear_ a SOLDIER.

An adjustment to his glasses, and then an idea. A SOLDIER was hard to make disappear, but a trooper…troopers went missing all the time. And would be under less scrutiny.

Hojo set to typing on his computer, 'fixing' the scores and suggesting the boy be dropped from the program. His word was law in these parts and now all he had to do was wait.

Who was this cadet again?  _Cloud Strife_. He shook his head as he moved along to the rest of the profiles. The names of his projects were so easy to forget.

* * *

This wasn't right, was it?

His gloved fingers curled around the edges of the sink and he willed the little drops to stop falling. This wasn't right. He had tried so hard, but...

_Cloud Strife does not meet the qualifications for SOLDIER._

Cloud Strife was too weak, more like it. He resisted the urge to strike a fist at the mirror, knowing it would change nothing or worse, not even break at all. Cloud did not want to look up right now. His eyes wouldn't stop burning-hell, he couldn't even see anything and holding back any semblence of sound was just making his jaw and neck ache.

He lifted a shaking hand to wipe the moisture from his eyes, desperately trying to compose himself. This was stupid. He couldn't get this emotional over a rejection, what would that tell everyone?  _Well, what they already knew, of course._

He gritted his teeth and firmly told that traitorous voice in his head to disappear.

It wasn't the end of everything. He was still enlisted in the standing army and could try again next year, and that may have given him some time to improve and prepare.

_Just..deep breaths, Cloud. Get a hold of yourself._

He walked out of the bathroom, the small paper forgotten on the floor. Each step as he made his way back to the barracks echoed loudly and he focused on that instead of what he read between the lines.

_Cloud Strife was too weak._

* * *

A month or so later and Cloud wasn't sure if the impact of his rejection had lessened any. It still stung to think about so he tried to avoid it whenever necessary, even glaring at people who were careless to bring it up.

He knew he was acting like a child but it  _hurt._

And now he was on a mission to Modeoheim to capture the rogue scientist Hollander, where there were rumors the K.I.A. SOLDIER Genesis was hiding out as well. He, as an infantryman, was given very few details on the mission, since his duty was backup, but it had to be very serious to send a Turk and a SOLDIER first class along.

And according to his fellow trooper, not just  _any_ first class SOLDIER. (But really, was there anything like a  _normal_  first class?) This black-haired man was the prodigy of Angeal Hewley, one of the other deserters, himself. It was said that even Sephiroth of all people had taken notice of him. Cloud swallowed, staring nervously at his boots. This man must be good if the great General of SOLDIER recognized him as a friend.

However, these thoughts only distracted him for a little longer as the helicopter really took flight and his stomach lurched.  _Oh shit, I was hoping this wouldn't happen…_

But no, his motion sickness plagued him wherever he went and stopped for no one. Cloud focused on his breathing and stared straight in front on him to calm his stomach. Luckily his helmet was on, so the first class couldn't see him staring at the hilt of the sword behind his back.

The SOLDIER in question, however, was nothing like Cloud had expected. For all the intimidating image his uniform held, this man embodied none of it, instead laughing and joking with the  _Turk_  of all people-getting nothing but an annoyed look in exchange. He even directed a question towards Cloud himself, who just answered it by shaking his head, not wanting to let the feeling in his stomach overwhelm him and cause him to throw up all over the floor.

"Maaaan, when are we ever gonna get there? I think my leg is going numb," the black-haired man grumbled as said leg bounced up and down. The Turk stared at him, opening his mouth to reply, when suddenly the entire chopper shook.

Nausea forgotten, Cloud gripped the side of his seat, eyes frozen.  _Oh goddess please don't let us crash._

"What was that?!" The SOLDIER looked out the window on the side right as there was another, even greater shudder, followed by the awful sound of twisting metal. All of a sudden, the entire thing tipped to the side and Cloud struck the wall, his body at the mercy of gravity and a large metal death-trap. He couldn't see anything but he could hear the Turk and the SOLDIER shouting something at the pilot, however it was too late, they were already spiraling around, and around and down into the-

 


	3. It Begins

First things first, he was alive. The snow in his face and the pain throughout most of his body told him that. For once in his life, Cloud was glad his helmet was on because it probably saved him from a few concussions. He lay there for a little while longer, investigating his body to see if anything was broken but when nothing was wrong, he slowly started standing up, brushing the snow off of his uniform.

Cloud could hear the SOLDIER saying something but wasn't paying much attention. The Turk, on the other hand, had pulled out his phone and was presumably checking for a signal as he looked back at the wreckage. The helicopter was lying on its side, the mangled planes of metal blackened and smoke rising into the air.

Hell, how had he survived that? The SOLDIER and Turk-whose name was apparently Tseng-were understandable, since it was their job to be indestructible, but how had he and the other trooper survived the crash? They weren't even injured in the slightest and taking a look at what was left of their transport, they really shouldn't be alive.

Cloud shook himself to scare away morbid thoughts and turned his attention to the party leaders. The SOLDIER was looking exasperated-but perfectly fine-and Tseng didn't even have a hair out of place.  _Seriously, how does he do that?_

_"_ Well, at least we're all in one piece. We'll be alright." The SOLDIER said, smiling back at the two of them.

"Thankfully, we have someone used to this kind of terrain."  _Did that Turk just make a joke?_  Either way the SOLDIER shook his head in mock despair. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a country boy…"

"All right then. We would've reached Modeoheim by now if we hadn't crashed," Tseng said curtly, nodding towards the taller black-haired man, who nodded, then grinned.

"All right, follow me then!" The first class pumped his fist in the air and then set off at a good pace. Cloud stumbled a bit over his feet in order too keep up.

* * *

They had been going at it for a while now, and Cloud's helmet was getting warm and sweaty. He hadn't liked the thing in the first place for that reason, and his hair was unreasonably spiky and usually got crushed underneath it. However, he'd been faring far better then the others, who were a good distance away.

The snow crunched underneath his feet, strangely reminiscent of back home. Cloud didn't have too many fond memories of the place, it being a barren wasteland and him being bullied, but it was home, and he'd made a promise there, too. To Tifa, and to himself. That's why he was moving so fast. It felt like, after months of being stuck in last place, he was finally in his element, literally. Cloud Strife was good at this and it felt amazing.

What was also amazing was that he was keeping up with the first class.  _Well, he said he was from the country too, and runs like a battery so I'm not surprised…_ Maybe the training wasn't useless after all.

"Yo! Don't fall too far behind!" The SOLDIER shouted back. Cloud looked behind him and indeed, Tseng and the other trooper had fallen further behind then he realized. "Hey, at least someones keeping up."

It took Cloud a moment to realize the SOLDIER was talking to him, and he blinked in surprise. Was he impressed by how fast he was moving? "Well, I'm a country boy too."

He kept walking, and the SOLDIER kept talking. Cloud was plenty nervous about a real conversation with a real first class, but something about this man's open mako-blue eyes calmed his nerves. "From where?"

Cloud glanced slightly over at him. "Nibelheim."

The black-haired man started laughing as soon as he said that, tripping a few steps forward. Cloud huffed at the SOLDIERS amusement. He probably thought the name was funny. "How about you?"

The SOLDIER turned back to him, face lit up. "Me? Gongaga."

He had such a swagger as he said the weird name that Cloud himself couldn't help but laugh as well. What sort of word was that?

"Hey, what's so funny about that?" The SOLDIER sagged, deflated from his moment of glory. He really did look too much like a disappointed puppy, and Cloud had to stifle his snickering again. "You know Gongaga?"

Cloud shook his head. "No but its such a backwater name."

"Ditto Nibelheim."

"Like you've been there!"

The SOLDIER shrugged. "I haven't, but there's a reactor, right? A mako reactor outside Midgar usually means…" He paused for dramatic effect, and Cloud knew exactly what he was going to say next.

"Nothing else out there." The both spoke at the same time, looking astonished at each other for a couple minutes, before slowly bursting out into laughter. The SOLDIER waved his hand, trying to catch his breath before turning back to the others.

"Good news, Tseng! Me and…" Oh right, they had never introduced each other. He quickly took off his helmet, glad to be free of that death-trap, and smiled slightly. "Cloud."

"Me and Cloud here are both backwater experts. Oh yeah!" The SOLDIER pumped his fists again and started running off. Cloud followed him, not catching what Tseng shouted after.

* * *

He had never been more grateful for a sudden crash-landing in his life, as Zack-thank Shiva he had finally learned the guy's name-was a wonderful companion.

Cloud was not good at making friends at all. He was too unreasonably shy and far too scared to ever initiate conversation with anyone else. Besides, this was the army, and most people didn't have time to deal with a runt like him. He had reminded himself every night, that once he made SOLDIER like Zack had, everyone would treat him better, but instead he ended up in the bathroom with a crumpled sheet of paper.

But Zack was amazing. Not only did he seem strong and powerful, but he went out of his way to include everyone in his conversation, and had the unshakable charisma to match. Just a smile had Cloud feeling better about himself then he had in years. Zack actually, legitimately, cared, and he thought Midgar was full of assholes.

The two of them made easy conversation as they kept walking down the mountain, though more then once they had to pause to let Zack take care of some local monsters. Both of them had an uncanny sense of where the monsters were-allowing even Cloud with his terrible aim to pick off a couple-which Zack praised him loudly for-so they were all right by the time they reached their destination.

"Phew….Let's wait a bit," Zack sighed, leaning down slightly as they looked over the ridge at the reactor. Tseng and the trooper were nowhere in sight, so Cloud followed his friends advice. It was quiet with nothing but the wind, and he kicked at a bit of the snow with his boots, unsure of if he wanted to say what was on his mind. Zack must've sensed his indecision, as he turned around, silently asking.

"Hey, Zack, uh…" He'd seen the way the SOLDIER had wielded his weapon. A bit flashy for sure, especially his victory salute, but it was sure and strong. His sword-arm was brimming with confidence.

"Hm?"

"Um…what's it like to be in SOLDIER?" Cloud wanted to know what it felt like, to be that strong. To have people look up to you like that.

"I don't quite get the question," Zack said quietly, his face apologetic.

"Uh…" Crap, he'd screwed up.

Quick as a flash, Zack smiled again, reaching down to pat Cloud's shoulder. "Well, once you join, you'll know what it's like."

_How do you have so much confidence in me? You've known me for an hour and I barely come up to your shoulder…_

"If I can join, that is…"

Zack frowned this time, disheartened perhaps, that his new friend was so hard on himself. "Don't sweat it! If I can do it, you can too, Cloud!"

_What did i do to make you say that?_

Tseng and the other trooper had finally caught up, but Cloud wasn't listening to anything they were saying. He knew it was bad, since they had an important mission, and it concerned their infiltration, but Zack was too confusing. He stared at the first class's back, almost jealous that he had what Cloud so desperately wanted, but the feeling couldn't last. Zack was too nice. He barely saw himself as special and even thought that Cloud could one day make it as well? SOLDIERS truly were extraordinary, and not just in physical feats.

In one conversation he had gone to admiring Zack almost as much as he did the General himself.

"…you watch carefully too, Cloud." He shook himself out of his reverie, focusing on the mission at hand.  _No time for this now._  He'd been half listening to the plan, which involved Zack sneaking around the guards down at the reactor and stealing items. Offering advice, was he?

"Uh huh." He nodded, and Zack took off, giving a quick salute over his shoulder.  _SOLDIER operatives are amazing, I wonder if I really have what it takes._

* * *

Cloud snorted at the fact that Zack lasted approximately three seconds before alerting the guards to his presence and having to use his sword. Seeing Tseng shake his head he got the confidence up to ask a question.

"Not very good at stealth, is he?"

"No." was the Turk's annoyed replay.

"What are our orders, sir?" Cloud jumped, having nearly forgotten the other infantryman was there.

"Now that Zack has defeated the guards we enter. Search for Hollander. Capture him. Alive…is preferred." Tseng said, drawing his gun. Both of them nodded, and followed the path down.

"You." Cloud turned around. "Follow Zack's…trail. He'll most likely attract a lot of attention and we may find Hollander that way. If you find him, contact me on your PHS."

Tseng didn't even wait for confirmation before running off, leaving Cloud to follow his orders.

Truth be told, Zack wasn't a hard person to track; he left a wake of dead monsters and soldiers behind him as he travelled deeper into the reactor. It was a rather grim sight, but Cloud knew it was necessary. The soldiers weren't normal, some of them even spouting wings, and the monsters were deformed as well. _Just what is going on here?_

It headed, of course, for the elevator. He climbed quickly inside, pushing the button to go down, fervently hoping there weren't any monsters as he was rather inadequately armed. The lift rattled shut, earnestly creaking as it went down, leaving him to suddenly wonder if this building was structually safe at all.

Cloud gripped the metal mesh on the front, willing the groaning lift to move faster, his eyes widening in shock when he saw the scene unfold in front of him. Zack and an odd, black-winged auburn-haired man were crossing swords, while Hollander stood just on the outside, about to run away. The elevator clanged open, and the scientist started to make a run for it.

"Cloud, get him!" Zack yelled as he was locked in stalemate with the winged man, unable to make a move. He immediately ran forward, grabbing around his neck and an arm in an attempt to at least bring him to the ground, but Hollander was surprisingly strong for his stature, or at least had surprise on his side.

In a sudden move, he twisted out of Cloud's grip, knocking the boy back onto the floor. Stunned for a bit, he scrambled back up again, casting a wild glance at Zack and the other man, who now looked to be rather sickly and diseased. "GO!" There was an uncharacteristic note of panic in Zack's voice, and he needed no other prompting.

Hollander took off towards the stairwell, and Cloud raced after him, desperately willing his feet to go faster.  _How on earth was this man able to stay ahead of me, he doesn't look fit at all!_ The chase had him clanging all the way up the stairs while fumbling in his pocket for his PHS. Cloud tripped on a step, hanging onto the railing to not tumble backwards. Where was Tseng's number?

The phone dialed and he wasted no effort. "TSENG! HE'S HEADED BACK UP TOP!" Not even waiting for affirmation, Cloud desperately took off again, pounding up the rest of the stairs, an angry stitch growing in his side.

He burst out into the wonderfully cold air, taking a few breaths to calm his rapid heartbeat. The wind chilled his skin, which had been flushed from all the running. A few more breaths and he looked up, as Tseng ran over to him. "I'm sorry, I lost him, but I know he went this way…"

_"_ It's fine. I spotted him going down the tunnel towards Modeoheim. We need to hurry before he gets away." Tseng said urgently.

Cloud looked behind him. "But Zack…"

"He'll catch up. We need to move." He nodded reluctantly and hoped his friend was alright. He didn't doubt Zack's skills with a sword, but there was something off about that other man.

* * *

The strange monsters kept appearing and attacking them as they reached the deserted village, but Tseng opted to ignore most of them unless they were in his way, leaving Cloud to either run even faster or fight. He desperately wished he was good with a sword for a moment before his immediate thoughts were overrun by survival instinct. Hollander's footprints were fresh in the snow, and Cloud briefly wondered what this man had done to warrant such a reaction, wishing a bit too late he'd paid more attention to current events.

Cloud followed Tseng into the run-down hot springs, finally slowing to a walk when they saw it was uninhabited. He heaved a few breaths in, trying to keep alert for Tseng's sake-becoming a liability for the Turk was the last thing he wanted to do. "He in here..somewhere?"

Tseng nodded curtly, checking each corner before stepping out and continuing. Cloud followed behind him more slowly, checking the rear in case anything snuck up on them. The place was scorched and dilapidated, and eerily quiet compared to the chaos they just ran through. It had him jumping at almost every stray drop of water or creak of timber beneath their feet, wondering when something was going to jump out at them.

Despite all that, it was slightly comforting to know Tseng was on his side-the Turks were scary, but they did their job well, and nothing could sneak up on one. They continued this manner until reaching the inner hot springs (which, for some reason, were still switched on) when Tseng stopped. Cloud glanced at him, questioning, and he just shook his head, pointing at the next room. "He went this way…" The soft way he spoke indicated something was nearby and Cloud began to get a prickling sensation in his neck as well.

Cloud opened his mouth, just about to say something when something  _SCREAMED AT HIM TO MOVE, MOVE ASIDE SOMETHING IS ATTACKING FROM ABOVE_. Cloud rolled forward as a large shadow crashed to the ground, scattering ice and dust into the air.

"Not bad…" Tseng already had his gun trained on the man as Cloud looked up, his breath catching in his throat. He was clearly taller then Zack, with black hair slicked back and wielding a massive sword that was about the size of the trooper himself. That wasn't the worst part-what caught his eye the most was the beautiful white wing that sprouted from his right shoulder, much like the one on the strange red-coated man. It floated gently in the air, a stray breeze causing a few white feathers to float down like petals.

"But I'm afraid you'll go no further. " There was a white flash and the massive sword swung towards the Turk, who barely managed to dodge it in time.

"Tseng!" Cloud shouted, but the next shockwave from the sword was more then enough to catch him and throw him against the wall. "TSENG!"

The man whirled around at him-this was Angeal Hewley, wasn't it?  _WHY was he attacking us, he had to have seen Zack-_ and in a few steps, had Cloud's uniform secured in his grasp. He stared straight into the bigger man's eyes, scared stiff about what he was going to do, but again, something was off. This man's eyes weren't filled with hatred or rage as one might expect, but rather burdened with a deep sadness.

"Tell Zack I'm waiting for him." With that, the man lifted Cloud and threw him backwards. He crashed into the wall and fell hard onto the pavement, just barely missing cracking his head open on a rock. He couldn't tell if the winged man was still around, but that didn't matter, seeing how the entire world was vibrating, and his vision quickly going fuzzy.

* * *

Cloud wasn't sure how long he laid there on the floor like that, but what seemed like hours later, he heard some noises that sounded like a monsters scream. It couldn't be Tseng-he hadn't moved either-nor the other trooper, because, well, Cloud had found his body among the scattered carcasses. He couldn't move, he was really tired…but suddenly, there were pounding footsteps and a rough hand trying to help him up.

"Hey, hey, talk to me!" Cloud blinked a few times, clearing his vision and tried to stand up, only to fall backwards again. Zack had finally caught up and reached for his friend, but he waved his hand away. "We're all right…"

Zack looked like he wanted to argue with that point, but none-the less he ran over in Tseng's direction.  _I had something I needed to say to him…_

He may not be seriously hurt, but he was in no condition to be walking, so he left it up to Zack. Zack was strong, he wouldn't lose. Besides, if that really was Angeal Hewley, he wouldn't hurt him.

"Angeal is waiting for you…" Tseng said softly.  _That's what it was._ Zack looked back at both of them, clearly worried, but he knew he had to go on.

"You guys stay safe," Zack called before running off in the winged man's direction.

All they could do now was wait.

* * *

_If he focused just enough through all the green light, he swore he could see a girl in a flower patch. She was wearing a white dress and surrounded by a pool of yellow flowers, but Cloud had never seen her before in his life. Who was she?_

_As if knowing that she was being watched, the girl looked up and over at him. For the second time, Cloud felt his breath catch, but for a different reason. She was beautiful, far beyond words, and her eyes were as green as the threads of the Planet. It wasn't just the way she looked, the way her lips curved in a slight smile, a strand of hair slightly shifting, but something was so alive about her, as if the very essence of the Lifestream was poured into her being. She was…connected to the earth. And it was beautiful._

_"Hello? Who are you?" her voice was soft, wrapping fingers of warmth around his mind._

_"I'm…Cloud…."_

_"Nice to meet you…." Those green eyes studied his face for awhile longer. "Are you worried about someone?"_

_"Yeah…my friend…I think he's facing something terrible right now…"_

_All of a sudden the light from her face vanished, and the vitality that was ever so present vanished. He began to feel cold, very cold, and the threads began to tighten._

_"You have to save them!"_

_"What? But I…"_

_"Please, or something very bad will happen!" It wasn't just the girl speaking anymore, but several thousand voices at once. It was excruciating and he couldn't hear-_

Cloud jolted up from the floor, his mind still whirling from the strange hallucination. Did he really just see that, or was his head hit one too many times? He slowly felt his skull, but nothing seemed out of place. Turning slowly, he was again struck by the urgency that  _something very, very bad was happening,_ and he stood up in one go. Cloud stumbled for a moment as the world spun, but he righted himself.

What this feeling was that was driving him on, he didn't know, but Cloud had to get to Zack fast. He started dragging himself towards the doorway, pausing only to look at Tseng. The Turk was in the same place he was left, but there was something suspicious glowing in his left hand. Trusting him to be alright, Cloud pushed onward.

He only had one major incident of falling up the stairs-Zack had thankfully turned the heat off-before Cloud got his legs under him and climbed up the pipes. He could hear angry voices ahead, which did not bode well.  _I'm not too late, am I?_

"Zack, I am perfect. A perfect…monster." Angeal was saying to his horrified student, Hollander standing off to the side with a sneer.  _What was going on?_

Apparently no one had noticed him for they continued on, Angeal looking ready to speak again, and Zack, for once, terrified. Cloud couldn't stand to see that on his friend's face-it was too uncharacteristic.  _How much does this man mean to you, Zack? You are so nice to everyone but he's special, isn't he?_

_"_ NO!" He suddenly shouted out, startling everyone in the room, Angeal most of all.

"Cloud! You're okay?" Cloud nodded quickly at Zack, trying to focus on the winged man. "Why are you doing this?"

The massive sword lowered slightly. "What?"

"You're calling yourself a monster, just because you have a wing on your back?" He said, leaning on the doorframe.

The look on Angeal's face darkened measurably. "You don't know what you're talking about."

He took a step forward, and so did Zack, whose eyes darted between Cloud and his mentor, not knowing who to go to.

"Don't you think you're being selfish?!" he shouted, afraid if he didn't talk he'd never get the courage to say anything again. Perhaps it was the knock against his head that didn't make him think straight, but either way, he couldn't hold anything back now.

"I…"

"You're right. I know nothing. I don't expect to, just like I don't know the deal with that other guy with a wing. But I'm talking about you. You and Zack!"

Zack's mouth hung open. He must be surprised, a half-conscious trooper standing up to someone who could probably break him in half with his bare-hands. Or maybe something else.

"Angeal, he's right! You're not a monster, I've been trying to tell you that!" Good. Zack was seizing this opportunity.

_Why is this man so important? I don't know him. I barely know his name._

_"_ Zack, do you remember what I said before, about our enemy being all that creates suffering?" Angeal seemed to trying his best to ignore both their words.

"Yeah, but that's not you!" Zack was desperately earnest.

"Why are you so convinced you're a monster?" Cloud's soft voice cut through the air again.

Angeal let out a short sound that could've been something akin to a choked laugh. "I have no right to be among humans anymore."

What could he do? His words were too weak, and Zack was getting more and more unstable by the moment. Which one was he trying to save? Zack, or Angeal?

Something told him if he could stop Angeal, his new friend would be saved as well.

"If you're such a monster, then why didn't you kill me?" He pushed himself off the doorframe and slowly walked in. Perhaps it would take something drastic to shock him out of it. "You could've killed me and Tseng but you didn't. That would've made Zack a lot angrier at you, wouldn't it?"

"Cloud, don't-" Zack reached out, but stopped when he saw the steel in Cloud's gaze. He walked until he was face to face with the winged man, who towered over him.  _Don't be afraid._

"You mean a lot to my friend and he's a good judge of character." The sword raised high.

"Good Angeal, show him the monstrosities you are capable of! A beast such as yourself deserves no more honor!" Crap, he'd forgotten Hollander was still in the room.

"Angeal, don't you dare!" Zack shouted at the same time as Hollanders 'kill him!'

"LISTEN TO ME!" His friend was nearly in tears.

"I'm doing this for him. I don't know you, and I barely know him, but he wouldn't be this upset if you weren't important." His vision was swimming again. "Give him the benefit of the doubt, will you?"

Zack rushed forward, shoving Cloud behind him. "Angeal, stop fighting, and listen to me!"

"He'll never listen to the likes of you, he's already made up his mind!" Hollander cackled.

" _You shut the hell up."_ Such malice radiated from Zack's voice that Cloud involuntarily took a step backwards.

"Zack…"

Cloud somewhere was crossing his fingers, hoping Zack could pull him out of this.

"..I am selfish. I sent you after Genesis to prepare you for this." The massive sword fell slowly to the ground, but the tip quivered, still ready for battle.

"With all due respect, being selfish is a very human trait."

There was a good deal of science after that one, though Zack did not let up his guard of Cloud.

"Why do you have such faith in me?" he almost sighed. The look in Angeal's eyes was there again. Not the one of burning rage, as one would expect from a monster, but that deep, unfathomable sadness.

"Trust me." Zack begged. "What happened to honor, Angeal? Your comrades? Are you just going to give that up because some nutjob told you to?"

"I don't know if I trust you, but I trust Zack. He always sees the best in everything."  _And because of that, you must truly be amazing._

The sword was wavering between the ground and the air again, eager to choose a side.

"Please. I can't lose you, Angeal. Sephiroth sent me to help you."

The older man's eyes widened as he stared at his disciple. "S-sephiroth?"

"That's what he said! You and Genesis. I'm here to bring you both back!"

Angeal stared down at his gloves, and the sword point finally hit the ground. Cloud let out a long, slow breath he'd been holding, fairly certain the man was no longer going to strike them down.

"Do you believe that, Angeal?" Hollanders annoying voice sounded again.

"YOU!" Zack was furious and pulled his sword, but before he could take another step, a shot rang out. The bullet pierced through Hollander's left calf and he screamed, falling to the floor, as Tseng stepped out from the door frame.  _So that WAS a Cure materia…_

"Tseng!" Zack took a step towards him but froze as he pointed his gun upwards, towards Angeal.

"I do not have any orders regarding your capture, but you still pose a threat to the mission." he said calmly.

"Tseng, no, calm down, he didn't-"

"Zack, enough." Angeal spoke up again. "It is true I am a threat, but not to you. I do not wish to rejoin Shinra, but…"

"Then I suggest you leave before I report you." He raised his aim another few inches.

"Angeal, don't just leave again, I want to help you!"

A roar shook through the building, shaking off some stray snow. "Um, Zack," Cloud said quietly, "That didn't sound friendly…"

This time there was a loud crash, a flash of white wings, and silence.


	4. The Rain Will Fall

For a moment, he was flying. He was free of the ground, the screaming of the monsters and the sound of bullets, and was left with nothing but the wind. For that moment, he was floating without a single care and it was beautiful.

Said moment ended as abruptly as the side of the mountain slammed into him. Cloud crashed clumsily into the ground, tumbling away from his would-be savior before coming to a rest face down. By the sound of it, Zack had done the same.

"There's only so many times I can take being thrown into the ground in one day, you know?" He said nastily, pushing himself up and shaking the fine powdery snow out of his hair. Zack was further over on the side, partly covered by a snowdrift, while Angeal was, predictably, standing by looking on with what could possibly be concern.

"I….apologize." Cloud blinked up at him, still a bit woozy from all of his 'treatment', but he was not expecting that out of a man who had been so ready to kill Hollander it seemed, and Zack along with it.

Zack's words got muffled by the snow in his mouth but his protests signaled he was awake and unharmed at least. "I LIVE!" he proclaimed, rising out of the snowbank dramatically.

His two companions just stared. "What, too soon?" Zack's shoulders slumped, and Cloud did as well in sympathy. His friend had been clearly trying to lighten what was now a very awkward mood between the three.

Angeal had certainly noticed the way Zack and Cloud had made no moves to approach him other then standing up, from the uncertainty in his movements, which Cloud didn't know how to deal with. SOLDIERS were always so sure of themselves.

The silence continued, as did the drifting of snow that they had knocked around, and the daylight grew thin. Dark clouds were rolling in, and while it didn't seem cold enough for snow, freezing rain was certainly possible. Breaking the standstill, Zack made the move first, taking a step towards his mentor, but Angeal held up a hand to stop him.

"Zack…." Angeal glanced towards Cloud-who took a second to remember Angeal didn't know his name-and then down at the ground. "I…apologize for my actions in Modeoheim. It was not my intention to bring you to harm."

"Then what was it, Angeal?" The same hint of desperation was back in Zack's voice.

"I intended to die."

Silence reigned again, the look on Zack's face destroying his any attempt to respond. Cloud was himself, startled, having heard that the rogue SOLDIERS had defected to destroy Shinra for revenge. Monsters.

"Why?" Cloud asked the question Zack couldn't.

"I am…was…a monster. And there is no honor in being a monster."

"Yeah well, theres no honor in betraying your friends and leaving them all behind either!" Zack burst out, finally recovering his voice.

"Zack I-"

"No, you listen to me. Out here where we can, and Hollander isn't around. Stop spouting all this crap that you're-SOLDIER doesn't mean monster, Angeal! Would you call me that? Would you call Sephiroth that?!"

The man's slate blue eyes widened fully. "No, but-"

"No, no buts this time. I don't care if you're my mentor, you're listening to me. You aren't a monster! And if you want to  _honor_ that, you'll stop acting like you are one!" Zack shouted by the end, his voice vibrating high off the rocks and snow.

Cloud looked between the two of them, Zack angry, Angeal, determined and resigned. Neither were giving in soon, true to teacher and student, but Cloud didn't feel qualified to cut in. He'd known Zack for a matter of hours, and Angeal had attacked him the first they met. Whatever the history was here was too much for him to get into.

Feeling powerless was terrible, but it was none of his business, right?

Right?

_Don't be afraid._

"Sir, with all due respect, I would take the opinion of Zack Fair over Dr. Hollander's any day," he said softly. Both of the taller men looked over to him, obviously surprised to still find him there. _What did they think, I was just going to run away?_

Slowly, Angeal began to laugh. It was short and mocking, and echoed nearly as bad as Zack's voice. Both of them stared at the winged man, unsure of how to react. Zack apparently thought his mentor had lost his mind but further inspection proved the tension had dropped from his shoulders and his face was no longer twisted from whatever pain plagued him.

"Thank you Zack." A genuine smile crossed Angeals face, beckoning one from his student again.

"And don't you go forgetting it either!" Zack laughed and suddenly leaped at Angeal, folding him in a giant bear hug. "You're back, you're really back!"

Zack's enthusiasm brought a small grin to Cloud's own face, which he quickly covered with a gloved hand. Angeal soon wrestled his way out of his students grasp-though he wasn't nearly as energetic as he could have been-and turned his eyes to the unusual third wheel.

"And I suppose I should thank you too…" He paused.

"Cloud," he supplied, dipping his head a little like he did when Zack asked.

"Cloud. Thank you. I do not know you well, but your words were very, um, effective." Angeal nodded back at him. Zack jumped back to him, probably guilty for leaving his new companion out in the cold. "He's my new friend, so of course he's smart! You think my judgement is that bad?"

"Zack, you are friendly to everyone, so I cannot tell the difference between casual acquaintance and actual friend," the larger man chided softly. The younger man's deflated look could only mean the man was teasing.  _Thank god he's getting back to normal, at least._

Feeling rather out of place, Cloud looked up again at the sky, which was still darkening already. "I think its going to rain."

Both of them turned to him. "You can predict the weather, spiky?"

"Sort of. And don't call me that, Zack," he leveled his best impression of the General's stare (which failed miserably, judging from the snickers)

"Getting that familiar with your superiors already, are you?" A large warm arm wrapped around his neck, drawing him close. "Come ooon, Cloud lighten up! We may have just met but we are still friends!"

One look at Zack's open shining eyes and Cloud could believe that.

A distant rumble and sure enough, the rain began to fall. Zack looked up, some of the droplets falling and rolling down his cheeks. "Well what do you know. Cloud really can predict the weather!"

The three of them stood still for awhile, letting the rain wash down on them. Cloud felt the comforting embrace of his friends arm, and even Angeal's wing glistened softly with the water. Perhaps things , somehow, could be alright.

* * *

_I saved him, didn't I? Just me, Cloud. You said something terrible would happen, but this doesn't feel terrible. Does that mean I saved Zack's friend?_

_I don't think I'm strong enough to do this, but he's still here. It's only going to get worse from now on, isn't it?_

_This might be a time where I actually start to pray._

* * *

There was only so much staring at the rain they could do before the physical stress all three of them had been put through began to take its toll. Cloud was thankful that the fog in his head had disappeared, but he was still bruised and hurt all over. Zack was getting soaked, and Angeal was not well, to say the least.

"We need to get out of here." Quickly, Angeal-Cloud wasn't sure what else to call him-took charge, with a worried glance back in the direction of Modeoheim.

"Right." Zack quickly searched around, presumably for his sword, sighing when he couldn't find it. Cloud's own rifle had been lost somewhere in the skirmish as well.  _Unarmed, in the middle of a mountain range. Lovely._

They at least had Angeal's Buster Sword, but with the man tiring quickly, Cloud didn't know how well that would last them. Plus, he could feel a sense of something wrong with the man-it wasn't just the wing or the gradually greying hair, but almost as if a stiff, decaying aura lay over him, and it made Cloud's skin crawl.

He shook himself and focused. "I'm, uh…used to this type of terrain so we should probably find a cave that looks like it's uninhabited?"

Angeal turned to him. "Is that a suggestion or are you asking me?"

Damn. He thought talking the man down would help with his confidence. "It's a suggestion…sir."

The older first class smiled slightly. "Good. We head this way. Spread out and search for something suitable but always keep one of us in sight at all times. Careful of monsters."

Neither Zack nor Cloud needed to be warned twice, both of them visibly nervous without their weapons to defend them. The trooper set out to the left of Zack, searching for higher ground. Nothing good was going to be found where they were, and most walking monsters wouldn't go this high up.

Luckily, the rain wasn't a torrential downpour, but he was still having trouble with visibility and almost lost the black blob that was Zack more then once. Panicking, he always found him again a few moments later, but it left him precious little time to actually find cover. Around ten minutes of this frantic scramble and Zack's shouting drew in both Cloud and Angeal. "Guys! I found something! And I don't think there's anything in it!"

"Good job Zack, if you're sure, lets get inside immediately."Angeal said. Cloud didn't get a sense of danger from the cave, which in itself, wasn't really much to speak of, more like a large crack in the side of a cliff, but they took it. A few scuffles and one 'ow Angeal, watch the wing!' later, and the three of them were settled out to dry.

"Thank Gaia you found this place," Cloud muttered gratefully, unwrapping the scarf from his uniform and attempting to squeeze the moisture out of it. He, in his ShinRa regular army uniform, was wearing far more cloth then the SOLDIER firsts, and was starting to feel a little jealous.

"You should thank Gaia I could even  _see it,_ with all this rain," Zack said, glaring mournfully at the sky. "Know when its gonna let up, weather boy?"

"I said I couldn't predict it, I just know what it looks like when its about to snow, and its not cold enough for that."

"Right, right, country boy, how the hell could I forget?"

"It's been a long day," Cloud said simply and kept wringing out his scarf.

"Where are you from?" The quiet question this time came from Angeal, who was a little ways away due to his new appendage.

"Uh…Nibelheim. It gets really snowy there all the time so I'm uh, used to it." Cloud shook his head, wishing it was as easy to talk to Angeal as it was Zack. The older man was far more reserved and intimidating, and add onto the factor he attacked the boy earlier today…it was awkward to say the least.

Angeal merely nodded, and went back to his own thoughts in the shadows.  _Just, weird._

Zack rocked back on his heels, then sat back to lounge on the rocks, seemingly unconcerned he was soaked in freezing temperatures. Cloud had the advantage of being used to cold climates, but none of the temperature resistance mako seemed to provide its SOLDIERS, and it took everything he had to stop himself from shivering.

* * *

The scarf was nearly dry and the younger first class had dozed off when Cloud's PHS suddenly rang. Instantly, Angeal and Zack were are the ready, both of their attention focused solely on him. He had started at the sudden noise, and now was frozen, his fingers hovering over the offending item.

"Who is it?" Angeal said urgently.

"I-um!" Cloud fumbled for the receiver and looked at the contact. There weren't that many people who would call him but, "Tseng?"

"Who is Tseng-"

"Why is the Turk calling you?"

Zack and Angeal both spoke at once and Cloud looked up at them, startled. "I don't know! I mean, he has my number but-"

He didn't know whether he should answer or not-Tseng seemed a decent enough person but that didn't mean anything now that he'd essentially defected.

"Pick it up." The younger man's voice was all business.

"But I-"

"DO IT."

Cloud gulped and quickly pressed the call button, holding the PHS up to his ear. "Cloud Strife speaking."

"I assume you are someplace safe for the moment?" Tsengs voice was all crackly, but it was there.

"I-yes, for the moment we've found shelter," he said, desperately looking up at Zack and Angeal.

"Good. Are SOLDIERS Zack Fair and Angeal Hewley with you?" Cloud nodded, then quickly muttered a yes when he remembered Tseng couldn't see him. "We're all together."

"Okay then. Put me on speaker phone." Cloud quickly acquiesced, seeing how Zack was about to suggest the same thing, and set the phone on the ground. "Tseng, everyone can hear you now."

"A helicopter arrived and I have taken Hollander into custody thanks to the distraction you provided." Tseng got straight to business. "Officially…Angeal Hewley had been sighted in Modeoheim and after picking a fight with Hollander and his former apprentice Zack Fair, ran away and disappeared before serious harm occurred. The wearabouts of SOLDIER first class Zack Fair and trooper Strife are currently unknown."

Zack had winced at the 'picking a fight' line. "And unofficially?"

"Unofficially, I haven't filed a report to the board or the President yet. As of now, only Sephiroth knows the full details of what happened. I called Strife because Zack's phone would no doubt be bugged."

"Is my existence that dangerous?" Angeal asked.

"You and Genesis were reportedly K.I.A. However, Shinra likes to cover all of its loose ends. Therefore we have unspoken orders to eliminate you so you no longer pose a threat to their image." Tseng's voice sounded flat.

"Hm. So you let me go instead." Was Angeal…amused?

"As I said before, rogue SOLDIER Angeal Hewley escaped before I could do anything." Cloud could only imagine the Turk's slight smirk at this point.

"That however, was not the point." The three of them huddled again around the phone like it was a bright campfire. "Sephiroth wishes to…meet up with you to discuss what to do next, but as you cannot suddenly return to Shinra, he said he has elected to meet you elsewhere."

Angeal said nothing, his eyes widening slightly at the mention of his one-time friend. "Does he have someplace in mind we can get to?" Zack spoke instead.

"It's a long stretch, but Sephiroth said there was a mission request for the General to go to Nibelheim and investigate some strange disturbances at the Shinra Manor and nearby mako reactor. Perhaps you can meet up there?"

Cloud couldn't help but gasp at the mention of his hometown. "Nibelheim! I'm from there!"

"Even better. You'll know the local area and be able to get around." The line went to static for a moment before returning. "I will let the General know you will be making your way to Nibelheim then, I presume?"

"Yeah, we can do that. Right, Angeal?" Zack said, grinning at his mentor, who nodded numbly. "Sweet! We'll be there!"

"Also, I'll be sending one of my subordinates there to assist since neither Cissnei nor I will be able to come without raising suspicion. He's a new recruit, but very clever and reliable, if somewhat unorthodox." Cloud didn't know how to feel about that, but it seemed as though Tseng was willing to help if he was sending one of his agents. Zack looked less then pleased, but agreed anyway. "Got it."

There was a sigh on the other end, masked mostly by the crackle of static. "Good, then the matter is settled. I will not be able to call you again, so I suggest you start out immediately for Nibelheim."

"Aye-aye, sir!" Zack said, snapping his hand up in a salute. What the point of that was, Cloud didn't know.

"Stay safe." The phone let out one last burst of white noise and then fell silent. Only the slight patter of rain broke through the absence, and Cloud reached out stiff fingers to pull back his phone. It was hard to move, with his clothes being damp, and even used to the cold, he could no longer keep out the shivers that wracked his frame.

"Hey, Cloud, you okay?" Cloud looked up to meet the large concerned eyes of Zack Fair, so he merely shook his head. "I'm used to these temperatures."

"Yes, but we are all wet, and you do not have the advantages of Mako." Angeal spoke softly. He glanced over at him, slightly surprised. "You may be resistant, but it's been a long day."

Cloud smiled slightly. "I think I can deal, sir."

Zack, however, was not convinced that easily. "Oh, what is that? Cloud, your lips are turning blue, I'm not standing for that!"

He rolled his eyes at Zack's exaggeration.  _My lips are not turning blue!_

"I suggest we wait until morning then, or at least until the rain stops. So you two, warm up." Angeal was smiling, clearly knowing about his students protective tendencies. And was staying about five feet away so they didn't extend to him.

"See? Even Angeal agrees with me." Cloud gave him another glare, and Zack stared back with such a stubborn, scrunched up look that he couldn't help but turn up the corners of his mouth, masking it with a hand.

"Shut up…." It was muffled, but still discernible. The black-haired SOLDIER shook his head, still steadfast, spinning around his bracer until he came across what he was looking for. Taking it out of its slot gently, he handed a small green globe gingerly to his friend. "Do you know what this is?"

The faint warm feeling and glow he got from it was more then enough to answer the question. "A fire materia."

A black eyebrow shot up, but he enthusiastically nodded. "Yep! I don't think you got any training though so here let me-"

Cloud had looked down at the materia, and whispered to it quietly with his mind, willing the gently swirling aura to light up in flames. There was a snap, almost, inside of his mind, and instantly he understood how to draw the power from the glowing ball and make it burst out. Small dancing flames shot up and curled around his fingers before fizzing out as he dropped the materia on the ground.

Zack's eyes and mouth were round. "Woah, Cloud! You did that?"

Cloud nodded slowly, still staring down at the materia. That that connection he made was really weird. It was almost as if he'd talked to it and felt a bit of the Planet itself inside the tiny stone.

"Wow, you must be a natural at this, that's so cool!" Zack's hand on his shoulder startled Cloud out of his daze and he couldn't help but shudder again from the cold. Blue eyes looked concerned as the first class fished up the materia again. "It's okay, I can teach you how to use it properly later. Come here."

Cloud edged slowly closer, retrieving his now cold scarf and wrapping it around his neck. It did little to help, but if Zack could warm them up at least a little with a fire…Zack edged over until he and his friend were nearly touching, and he rolled the materia around in his hands, getting it to light up in a gentle green glow.

"See, the trick here is to activate it just enough so it doesn't burst into flames, but it's still all hot, okay?" Zack closed his eyes and the gentle aura grew brighter, softening the edges on his face. Cloud noticed only then how  _young_ his new friend was, probably only a couple years older then him.

The first class held out the materia, and he slowly put his hands over it like it was a portable campfire. Sure enough, the warmth spread from his fingers all the way down his arms, tingling with a sense of relief. Zack suddenly sat down fully against the back of the cave-away from Angeal, who was watching the outside-and motioned Cloud to scoot over next to him. "You know, sharing body heat works the best. Come on country boy, its only for tonight."

Cloud was really too tired to argue with the logic of that, and he  _was_ right. He slid himself on the cold rock over to Zack where it was warm and safe. The heat touched his skin and he exhaled softly, letting his breath drift out like smoke in relief. Tremors still ran up and down his body, but they were comforted by Zack's warm aura. Slowly, glancing slightly up at Zack, who was passively staring at the rain, he slid even closer until the two were touching. As if waiting for him, the SOLDIER slung his arm over Cloud's shoulders, lightly reaching up and ruffling his hair. He weakly protested, but it was too warm and he was too tired to do anything.

He had unconsciously curled up and rested his head against Zack's side, and while Cloud thought it would be awkward, it really wasn't in a way. They were friends, and friends protected each other, even if it was just from the cold. Slowly, because of his large, spiky heating pad, the frost stopped eating at Cloud's fingers and nose and he stopped shivering from the touch of his wet uniform.

Everything was lit with a soft green glow and it was so comforting, reminding him of that strange dream of his, where he dreamed he was talking to the Planet and a pretty girl. Her eyes had been the same color green.  _The Planet's pulse…_

No, that was Zack's pulse. He could feel it faintly through his shirt, which was surprisingly soft material. Cloud's eyes drifted closed, as he settled in closer, missing his friend smiling down at him, or the hand protectively holding him closer. It was warm here, and very safe. He could sleep.

 


	5. Wings of a Monster

Tseng stared at his phone for a moment before sighing. There used to be a day when he followed whatever Shinra said without question, as the perfect Turk was liable to do. However, it left a bad taste in his mouth, and he discovered he felt more loyalty to his fellow agents then he did the manipulative bastards who sat back and destroyed everything while they worked to cover it up.

His leader, in terms of 'loyalty to the company', wasn't the shining example either.

It had gotten worse when he had become 'friends' with Zack. The man had a way of creating friends out of hardened warriors. Zack Fair, in his opinion was everything a SOLDIER should actually stand for.

Despite the normal differences in their departments, Tseng saw him as a very good comrade, skilled even when otherwise lacking common sense, resourceful, and always excellent at keeping his teams morale up. It would be a shame to lose one such as him to the preying fingers of corruption.

He was stalling for time; Sephiroth was not a man to be kept waiting, especially when it involved his precious friends.  _Though, I wonder, do Genesis and Angeal know he thinks of them as such?_ Either way it…displeased him to know he'd probably have to go after them again.

He calmly typed in a few more numbers in the PHS, waiting for it to dial.  _Time to put my own plan into motion._

His contact picked up. "Reno? I have a mission for you…"

* * *

Angeal did not sleep that night, merely watching the rain as it slowly tapered off, and then the clouds, as they as well, disappeared. He couldn't sleep much any longer-the pain from his degradation was taking its toll, and there was nothing that didn't hurt anymore. His wing, as disgustingly beautiful as ever, rested by his side, a constant reminder of his origins. The rogue soldier turned his head back to where Zack and the trooper were curled up, slightly smiling.

Why had they not given up on him, even seeing the sort of actions he was capable of? True, he had not meant to harm either of them, not even the Turk, but he had been angry. So angry…it had blinded him into realizing he had created his own suffering. He truly  _had_ become the monster Hollander wished him to be, just as his student said.

_And I nearly killed the one person who still trusts me…_

But in the end, it wasn't surprising. Zack was extraordinary that way. At first, he had chalked it up to the boys naiveté, that when he saw the true nature of people and the true nature of Shinra, he would lose that hope that so blossomed in his eyes. However, he had been proven wrong-so wonderfully, beautifully wrong. Despite attacking him and accusing him on multiple occasions, Zack had still not lost that look. He had never, for anyone.

Angeal had never met anyone who so truly and genuinely  _believed_ in people.

It was the other boy, the blond-haired one, he could not figure out. At first, Angeal did not think much of him. He hadn't wished to hurt the child permenantly, and for his age, he had some surprisingly good reflexes to avoid the larger man's attack, but otherwise, he seemed rather unremarkable.

However he learned all assumptions about Cloud were being steadily proven wrong a hundred times over.

Not only had he stood up to Angeal of all people, especially in his unstable state, he did it multiple times even without knowing who he even was. The boy had told him straight up he was doing it for Zack-a man he'd met only hours ago. What in the world had given him such faith and such tenacity?

The boy was willing to be struck down if only to prove a point to his friends teacher. Angeal was sure that this Cloud didn't know anything about the experimentation or the background of the defection-or if he did, just twisted rumors-and here he was, a willing participant. The older man glanced back at the two, his students arm still curled protectively around the small blonde. Zack had seen something in him as well. It was true that Zack saw something in every person he met, but he sensed this time it was different, in how the young first-class had gotten so quickly attached.

Angeal sighed, folding his wing away until it completely disappeared. He would just have to wait and see. The two young ones had faith in him, and who was he to disappoint?

_Hmm, I see, you're getting old and soft._ Genesis' voice rang clear in his head and he ignored it. There were other things to worry about.

A soft crunch of rock underfoot alerted him that one of his companions was awake. Angeal turned his head slightly, seeing Cloud, his hair even more messed up then usual, blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"D' you ever sleep?" Cloud asked. Hmm. Apparently he wasn't as polite in the mornings.

"I do not need as much sleep and it is hard to come by recently," he said, looking back at the ice-rimmed snow.

"Hmmm." Cloud shook himself, and Angeal had to hide a smile. The resemblence to a certain species of bird was remarkable.

"I would've thought you'd have disappeared by now." He spoke the words that had been eating at him for most of yesterday. Why in fact, had the trooper stayed, when he could easily escape this misfortune? "And I would not blame you."

The boy's blue eyes lighted on him in surprise. "Why would you say that?"

Angeal was slightly taken aback. Apparently it hadn't even been an option Cloud considered.

"You have no connection to this business at all. Staying with us-with me, a deserter, only puts you in further danger."

Cloud shrugged. "Zack trusts you."

"And his opinion is important to you?" He was curious, not questioning. The boy cocked his head, as if unsure how to answer.

"Well…he's my friend. And he sees the good in everyone. So if he really likes you, you can't be that bad a person." His face buried itself in his scarf.  _So he has seen it too…_

"My only friend," Cloud muttered, soft enough that Angeal barely heard it.

_I see…now I get it._

If what he assumed about the small trooper was true, Zack was the only friend he has had for a very long time, and Angeal couldn't help the well of sympathy that rose up inside of him. He supposed it was just his instinct from being a mentor since his protective behavior arose at a drop of a hat, or perhaps his student was catching.

_No, you're worse then your puppy,_ Genesis' voice chided again and he brushed it away, mentally rolling his eyes. He was not that bad, yet.

This boy's core of strength surprised him though, especially since this was the military. They were systematically ruthless about picking on the weaker ones, and if one just looked at him, he could easily assume Cloud to be the first target. They of course, had not seen what Zack, and now Angeal as well, had. Perhaps…he could help the boy overcome his self-confidence issues, if only he were to trust him.

_You're staring, Angeal._  Enough.

He turned away, standing up as though he didn't hear that last sentence. "Come on, we should wake Zack and get going." He extended a gloved hand to Cloud, who instinctively jumped away from it.

"I…yes, I'll go do that sir." He scurried off and Angeal sighed. This would take a lot of patience indeed.

* * *

After an exceedingly strange encounter with Angeal, and waking up a rather cranky Zack, the trio were on their way to the only other civilization in this barren wasteland-Icicle Inn. Cloud's stomach rumbled defiantly in reminder of their need to pick up supplies as soon as possible, and he felt horribly vulnerable without a weapon. True, he was with two other first-class soldiers, but Angeal looked rather sick and Zack didn't have a sword.

Angeal was just…odd. Cloud hadn't expect to be talking to him that early in the morning and he certainly wasn't expecting him to say all of that. His suspicions had been confirmed when the older man had asked him why he hadn't deserted, and he'd been a little disheartened to hear Angeal had such little faith in him. Then again, the man had been more curious then anything else and even seemed concerned about his wellbeing.

Which was just weird. Why would he care?

Cloud was just contemplating how nice it was to actually have dry clothes when Zack suddenly sneezed. "Hey, Angeal…where'd your wing go?"

The SOLDIER in question looked at his student. "Do you have a cold?"

Zack merely waved him off. "What the hell does that hafta do with anythin', that wasn't what I asked you!"

"I can make my wing disappear if I wish, now are you okay?" Cloud walked silently behind them, amused by the spectacle.  _This must be where Zack gets his protective instinct._ Though, half of that was on the slightly overbearing man himself.

Seeing more of Angeal like this made him less intimidating. He was easily twice Cloud's size and the first time they had met he'd slammed the trooper into the wall, but as time went on he proved to be less scary.

He hadn't forgotten how guilty Angeal's hurt look had made him feel.

"Please, I don't get colds, you know that! Besides, Cloud was  _WAY_ colder then me!" Zack was saying.

"I've had my fair share of colds when I was little, so I'm immune to them now," he chimed in, smiling slightly.

Zack just groaned. "Gongaga is hot as hell, how am I supposed to deal with this?!"

"You're a country boy, you can deal with it," Cloud smile this time grew real and Zack whirled on him in mock anger.

"What did you say, you little twerp?" The first class was on him in a moment and had him wrapped up in a friendly headlock, even lifting him slightly off the ground.

"Zack, stop strangling your friend. They last longer if they can breathe," Angeal said calmly, as if he was used to this sort of thing happening all the time. Planet, he probably was.

"But he's mocking me!" Zack was dragging Cloud along with him.

" _Zack."_

_"_ Fine, fine…" He let his friend go, not before giving him a good ruffle to his spiky hair. Cloud protested, drawing his scarf up around his face so Zack couldn't see the blush that was spreading across his cheeks.

No, he really didn't regret getting into this at all.

* * *

"You called, boss?" A voice drawled as Reno entered the room. Tseng looked up from the computer and nodded.

"I presume you've been briefed at least a little about your mission already?" The red-haired boy was slouched casually against the wall.

"Yeah, for the most part. Man, are they really sendin' me on this thing just 'cause I'm a rookie?" Reno grumbled.

Well trust him to not be pleased, but Tseng did not have time for his characteristic protests. Despite his complaints, Reno took to every job extremely well and was steadily becoming a valued member, even with his blatant disregard for the dress code, which Tseng had, futilely, attempted to correct.

"Officially, yes." Tseng folded his fingers on his desk.

"An' unofficially?"

"Unofficially, I'd like you to do something for me." Tseng drew in a breath. "You will be heading to Nibelheim with SOLDIER General Sephiroth and two regulars. There you are to assist him on his mission, as well as keep an eye on any other suspicious activity."

Reno raised an eyebrow at the final statement. "This got somethin' to do with the whole Modeoheim thing?"

Tseng smiled slightly. He caught on quick. "As a matter of fact, it does. The higher-ups do not know of the events that transpired, but are getting suspicious, especially now that Sephiroth is going on a mission to a remote mountain range he has previously refused repeatedly."

"An' I'm there to see if they're right and put a stop to it?"

"Yes. But that will not be the only reason. What I'm going to say will not leave this room,  _do you understand?"_ Tseng stared the red-head down. It took a lot to visibly cow Reno, but the gravity of the situation seemed to finally occur to him, and he straightened up.

"Yeah, I got it, yo." His tone was serious.

"In Modeoheim, Angeal Hewley escaped with SOLDIER first class Zack Fair and trooper Cloud Strife and is currently heading towards Nibelheim to rendezvous with Sephiroth. I arranged this meeting. You are to go as my eyes and ears and….help them in whatever way you can." Tseng stated, watching him carefully for a reaction. He did not doubt his decisions, but it could never hurt to be too cautious.

Reno's eyes widened at the new information. "You tellin' me you  _lied_ to Shinra? An' none of us knew about it?"

"The less people who know, the better. Zack Fair is a friend of mine." And that was all the kid needed to know.

Reno stayed quiet for a moment, surprisingly thoughtful. "Yeah, I got it. Anythin' specific you want me to tell them?"

Tseng smirked. As always, the outcome was correct. "No. Just make sure they stay in one piece."

"On it boss!" With that, Reno flashed him a mock salute and thundered out of the room. Tseng turned back to his computer. It was out of his hands now.

* * *

He didn't know how much longer it was until Icicle Inn but he was getting very, very tired. Cloud's stomach kept up a rumbling sound fit for something from a large dragon and his movements were getting sluggish. He stared at Angeal and Zack's backs and wondered briefly where the hell they got their endurance, even with the younger SOLDIER complaining loudly about his own hunger.

_Well, I'm not a mako-enhanced thug, am I?_ Being hungry always made him a bit crabby, as well as the friendly reminder he was nowhere near as strong as these two and probably, just a burden. Seriously, he couldn't even keep up with them on terrain like this! It didn't matter he was hungry, he just had to push through it.

"Ughhhhh, how much farther? Seriously, Angeal please tell me we're almost there!" Zack's complaints were getting more and more genuine and Cloud almost wished a monster would attack them, just to stave off boredom or at least distract him from the pain.

Angeal wasn't too much better off, looking tired from all the exertion. Cloud briefly wondered how on earth they were even going to make it to Nibelheim in this state, if they couldn't even manage a hike to Icicle Inn of all places. It was really just a few miles.

_A few miles after fighting off monsters and the cold._ Seriously, how did Zack do it? He fought Genesis of all people!

"It'll be fine Zack, I think it's just one more mile. Past that ridge." He pointed with a finger and Zack sighed with relief. "You better be right…"

Both of them turned back to their third member and he hurriedly threw on a poker face. "You doin' okay there, spiky?"

Cloud nodded and waved them forwards. "I'm just slow, don't worry about me."

"Alright, if you say so. Oh man when I get my hands on a good meal…" Zack's voice drifted off as Cloud went back to his thoughts. At least they weren't worried about him, which would've been highly embarrassing. He was thankful for Zack's materia trick; it had done wonders to his uniform, leaving him completely dry, so temperature was no longer a problem. His friend had even let him keep the materia, promising to teach him how to use it when they got to a better place.

He gently took the green orb out and rolled it around on his fingers. Cloud had always been fascinated with materia since he was a little kid, begging his mom to take him up to where he swore there was a materia cave in the mountains. She of course, never let him, but the little balls of sparkling light never ceased to amaze him with their power. Holding a materia like this was almost like holding a part of the Planet itself. Perhaps he could try to use it again, just a little?

Cloud was contemplating this thought just as Angeal and Zack's voices grew more and more distant. Perhaps he should've said something about slowing down, but he was finding it hard to concentrate and the earth was starting to move beneath his feet. He was staring at the materia wondering if in his confusion he'd somehow pulled out a Quake by accident.

_That makes no sense, you don't have an earth materia._ The logical part of his brain supplied, but logic was quickly swept aside for attempting to put one foot in front of the other. What the hell was wrong with everything being so unsteady? His head felt like it was rolling in the clouds- _that was a good one-_ and spots in his vision were beginning to grow.

Cloud froze suddenly as the spots grew too overwhelming and the snowback drifted up to greet him. He knew he should probably tell Zack and Angeal about the ground moving but he was just too tired…

* * *

Zack knew something was wrong when he looked back and could no longer see a head of bright yellow spikes. Holding out a hand to Angeal, he stopped. "Cloud?"

There was no answer so he tried again. "Cloud? You there, spike?"

_Crap, crap crap, where did he go, was it a monster or did he fall down a crack? NO, there was no noise, I would hear, we would've sensed something…_ "CLOUD!"

Zack turned around and dashed back, frantically checking the snow for prints, his own hunger forgotten. "Cloud! Talk to me man, where are you?"

Angeal followed, if a bit more cautious, but Zack didn't have time for that, his friend was in trouble!

His quick eyes spotted a small green glow against the stark white snow, and he darted over to it. Sure enough it was the fire materia he'd given the little trooper, but why was it on the ground? His stomach sinking, he dug a little into the snow and found a gloved hand.

"ANGEAL, I FOUND HIM!" He called not waiting, and half-pulling his friend from the snowdrift he'd collapsed into.

"Cloud, you okay? Come on, talk to me!" Cloud's eyes slowly blinked open, staring at him first in confusion before recognition registered. "Zack?"

Angeal had followed swiftly after Zack called and now was kneeling besides both of them. "What happened, Cloud?"

The trooper lifted one arm weakly. "I'm…not sure. The ground just started moving under me and my vision went all wierd for a moment."

Zack had a sinking feeling in his stomach even as he slid his arm behind Cloud's back to support him more fully. "Cloud, when did you last eat anything?"

His face scrunched up for a little bit before he finally answered. "Uh….before the helicoptor ride. It wasn't much 'cause I get motion sick…"

Angeal looked shocked. "And you've been going on just that? Why did you say nothing?!"

Ohhh, he was pissed. Very pissed.

"I was doing fine 'til everything got all blurry. I don't wanna slow everyone down." Cloud on the other hand, just looked grumpy and annoyed, as if he hadn't face-planted in the snow.

"Do you realize you are slowing us down by not telling us  _anything?!_ You insist on instead walking until you are dead from exhaustion!" Zack winced in sympathy. Angeal's lectures were usually harsh but Zack had the experience to know he was just concerned. Cloud did not, if his look had anything to say about that.

"Angeal." He said, glaring at him, until he sighed heavily and moved away. Zack turned back to his friend, who was now attempting to stand up. "Woah there, take it easy, we don't want you passing out again."

The steel was in the kid's eyes again. "I'm not weak."

"Hey, did I ever say you were? Frankly, I'm suprised you lasted this long. I know without enhancements I'd probably have Angeal drag me the entire way." Zack smiled, trying to hide just how plain  _worried_ he was. Seriously! Why was Cloud so obsitnate about this?

Said trooper was silent for a little while longer before attempting to stand up again. "Oh no you don't!" He said, not sorry at all that he was using his strength to keep the kid from hurting himself again.

"Zack stop, I'm fine!" Now HE was angry.

"Fine? You just passed out in the snow! I'm not gonna let you exhaust yourself further, and that is final!" Zack did not care that Cloud was now looking downright murderous.

He mumbled something into the ground, and the black-haired man had to lean closer. "What did you say?"

"Just leave me here, I'm a dead weight…"

Zack dropped him and Cloud landed with a soft thump on the ground. What would possess someone to say something like that?  _What had this kid…that's just so terrible!_

_"_ Why would we ever do anything like that?" He said softly, pleading to understand.

"It's the army. I could probably name about twenty or thirty people who would leave me to die…" The kid sounded serious too, and Zack stomach twisted. That was not the way army, much less SOLDIER was supposed to work. At least, he didn't think so. Cloud wasn't weak and useless, not at all, but he had such little faith in other people to think like that.

Angeal walked back silently again, kneeling down and before Zack knew it, gathered Cloud on his back, wrapping the troopers arms gently around his neck. "This is SOLDIER, and we do not abandon comrades in need."

He pointed towards Icicle Inn with his head, telling Zack to get moving, who gladly did, after scooping up the Fire materia.

* * *

Angeal steadfastly ignored all of Cloud's protests and continued walking until the buildings of Icicle Inn appeared. The whole piggyback ride thing was a novelty, and he had a sneaking suspicion that the older man was annoyed with him, despite what he had said earlier.

"Zack, you'll need to go in and buy us our supplies, as well as find us some transportation to the lower continent. Got it?" Angeal ordered, passing him some extra gil that he had apparently picked up. Cloud also tried to offer some, but Zack slapped his hand away, telling him to stay and rest. Angeal had put him down, and this time he managed to not faint, but sat down rather quickly instead.

"Got it. I'll get us some weapons too. Anything in particular you want, Cloud?" Zack crouched down to ask him.

"No more guns." Cloud said, exasperated, and Zack laughed.

"Come on, spiky, your aim wasn't THAT bad!" He shook his head. "I get it though. Hey, you wanna be in SOLDIER, right?"

Cloud looked up at him, surprised. He remembered? "Well, how 'bout I get you a sword! Sort of a 'I'm sorry we dragged you along on this and made you accidentally desert' present."

Cloud rolled his eyes. These two made it sound like they had kidnapped him against his will. "Well…learning a sword would be nice. Or….just something like that. Maybe like…." He tried not to eye Angeal's buster sword, though he would've dearly loved to be able to use something like that. There were certain things that were completely impossible for him...

Double swords. That was something even someone of his size would be able to accomplish. "Maybe two."

Zack looked thoughtful for a minute then brightened. "Two, huh? I know exactly what to get you!" He stood up quickly, brushing off his knees, and giving off a casual salute to Angeal. "Don't you guys go anywhere, I'll be back!"

The two of them watched the first class silently as he trampled his way towards Icicle Inn. Cloud would've dearly loved to see the town-he never got out much and everything was new to him-but with his arms and legs like noodles, and a large, angry watchdog, he wasn't getting anywhere.

"I'm not angry, with you Cloud," Angeal sighed, as if he could read the troopers thoughts.

"You were yelling at me." At least talking helped him focus on staying awake.

"I suppose you did not spend enough time around me as Zack does to know…my intentions are mostly harmless. I am merely frustrated that you did not tell us sooner you were feeling bad." He gingerly sat down next to Cloud, almost hesitant.

"That would be admitting weakness, sir." He gritted his teeth, expecting retaliation that suprisingly did not come. He glanced to the side and Angeal had that expression on his face again; the one of a deep, unfathomable sadness.

"I understand, but we are your comrades, and we do not leave anyone behind. You can  _trust us."_ Angeal but a great deal of emphasis on the last two words, staring into Cloud's eyes. He blinked, shocked. It was similar to Zack's puppy look, but more solemn and determined.

_I…am I really that stupid? Have I gotten that bad with people I can't even trust the two who saved my life over and over?_

He so desperately wanted friends that he didn't want to screw it up and show them how much he could let them down, like with the bridge. Like with Tifa. Zack and Angeal though, didn't care. They didn't care he was just a trooper, that they had to fish him out of a snowbank and carry him for a mile, that he got cold easier. He was Cloud, just like Zack was Zack.

_Don't be afraid._

Angeal was still looking at him, waiting for an answer, and Cloud smiled, the first geniuine one he had shared with the man. "Thanks."

* * *

A few moments more of waiting and Zack came trooping back, carrying a couple bags stuffed full of things, and a couple swords strapped to his back. "Hey guys! You would never guess what I found!"

Cloud really didn't care what he found, as long as it was food and he got it soon.

"Did you know Icicle Inn actually has bananas?" Angeal just stared at his student.

"This is the northern continent, bananas don't exist up here."

"I know that's what I thought but I found them! Look!" He pulled out a bunch, one of which looked suspiciously eaten. "Plus I hear they are great for recovering energy."

"I don't care if they're poisoned, or whatever they are, just give." Cloud said, annoyed. Zack laughed and tossed him the bunch, which landed partly in his lap. Staying away from the half-chewed one, he peeled away another and started eating, watching the other two as they took inventory of what they had got.

"Okay, the potions and ethers are all in here, in case we need them, and I got a couple of antidotes just in case." Zack shuffled around in the back. "Also, some more materia. The place didn't have very good selection, but its good for some low level stuff."

"What about transportation?" Angeal asked.

"Already got it. I got me and Cloud a couple passes on a boat that's going to an outpost on the southern continent where Nibelheim is and they said its a good place to rent some chocobos. You'll uh…have to sneak on or fly or something." Zack said.

"It's fine, I can do that. I may not be a Turk, but I have my ways." Angeal smiled at his student encouragingly. "Now what about weapons?"

"Oh yeah! That place had some suprisingly good stuff for a tiny outpost-apparently a lot of hunters and mercenaries go there for business." Zack took one of the normal-looking broadswords off his back and handed it over to Angeal, keeping one for himself. "So yours doesn't get any wear, tear, and rust."

Angeal shook his head as the other first class turned towards Cloud, who had stopped eating and looked at him in interest. "Oh yeah, and I got you something! You might not be able to use it yet, but I can start teaching you a little bit."

Zack drew out a couple of swords from his bag. The sheaths were attached to each other, but they seemed the same length. Each blade was about as long as Cloud's arm, shorter and thinner then the ones Zack and Angeal swung around.

"You mentioned twin swords and what do you know? The shop had a pair." Cloud hesitantly grabbed them, wrapping his hand around the hilts. They were short, but they looked to be swords he could actually wield. Something possibly a SOLDIER could do even.

"Well, you'll have to learn how to use a normal sword before you can use both of them, but that's what I'm here for!" A large hand clapped down on his shoulder, and Cloud started.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously!" Zack's open expression was hard to deny and he couldn't help but grin in return. Angeal was right, how could he ever doubt him?

"Now drink this." His friend was all business again, and slipped a bottle of some strange red liquid in his hands. "It's got added nutrients and stuff, great for a workout or whatever, since potions don't work on stuff like this."

Cloud glared at him, but knew he wasn't getting out of this one.

With swords strapped to his back, and Zack staring at him to make sure he was eating and drinking, they made good time towards the ocean to get on the boat. Cloud was fairly certain they'd have stayed put for his sake, but they would've been late for the boat. Secretly, he was glad for that. He didn't need anymore loafing around, and he really was feeling better. Still a bit weak, but better.

Sea travel was another story, for he was fairly certain that he was going to throw up everything he'd gotten down, and make his life even more miserable, but it was only for a little while.

"I can't wait until we can go get chocobos, it's so much easier then walking." Zack was at it again. "The trip to Nibelheim will be a breeze, especially if they have the mountain variety."

"I could've sworn chocobos don't like you."

"I'm willing to give them a second chance," Zack said, huffing.

As they arrived and waited for the boat, Cloud could only hope that the rest of their trip wasn't nearly as difficult.

* * *

He could nearly smell the strands of chaos that were winding its way to Shinra right now, and it pleased him greatly. Everything was a bit too boring when it was all in top shape, especially when Reno absolutely hated half of the people who were higher on the food chain.

_Irony, I guess I just love it._ He muttered to himself as he smoothed out his jacket and started to strut down the hallway. He had joined the Turks out of his own free will after all, though he owed more of his loyalty to the occasionally grating Tseng then anyone else.

He'd only met this Zack guy once or twice in their line of business and was curious to see what stone-faced Tseng saw in him. Also, he was bored, and looking after supposedly renegade soldiers sounded interesting enough for him.

Giving a wave and a winning smile to a rather startled secretary, he rounded the corner and took his time getting to the briefing, which was going to be a bunch of talking at him about how he was to follow orders and do what Shinra told him to do.  _To hell with that crap._ Tseng's orders took precedence.

Even new to the outfit, these guys were already more of a family to him then anything he had. He'd noticed that as soon as he donned the suit-the respectful, even fearful looks he got, the camaraderie between him and Rude-Reno was loyal to few people but these guys he cast his lot in with, for better or for worse.

And things were going to get very messy, very soon.

The hallway was mostly silent, it being rather late, which was why Reno was suddenly suspicious when he heard another pair of footsteps behind him. He slowed down slightly, but otherwise didn't act as though he noticed it. He was getting close to his destination, after all. Hopefully, creeper would be gone by then.

Except the sense didn't go away, and instead got faster. This was ridiculous. He was in the middle of the Shinra building, near Sephiroth's office, of all places, and yet all of his senses were going off as if he were about to be attacked from behind. Loosening the strap that held his EMR, he slowed to a stop and turned around, almost straight into the nose of Shinra's head scientist.

_Shit! Professor Creep-show!_

Reno couldn't help widening his eyes and taking a hop backwards, something that seemed to amuse Hojo greatly and made his skin crawl. "What the hell you doin', sneakin' up on a Turk?"

The Professor stood about even height with him, and that did not settle his nerves in the slightest. "You, boy, you're on the mission to Nibelheim," Hojo said, completely ignoring Reno.

He nearly curled his lip in disgust at the sound of Creep-show's voice, but instead opted for scratching at one of his tattoos. "Yeah. What's it to ya?"

The scientist started pacing back and forth, Reno staying rooted to the spot, left hand at the ready by his EMR. He was taking no chances with this man. "I am sure you've heard of theories behind the rogue SOLDIERS' disappearance and those of that Zack Fair and the trooper with him."

Reno froze. Did he know about how Tseng's connection to all of this? And by extension, his?

Unperturbed by the red-heads silence, Creep-show continued on. "It is suspicious to say the least, and I have it on good faith that it is connected to Sephiroth's sudden urge to go on the Nibelheim mission."

Hojo suddenly whirled on Reno, who unconsciously took a step back. "I have told that boy time and time again to follow my summons and yet he  _refuses_ to go! He is worse than that pandering, obstinate board of directors, always standing in my way!"

_Standing in your way, have they? About what?_ He nervously filed that one away for later use.

"Therefore, I am reduced to asking for help from the Turks of all people." Hojo backed away slightly, but Reno did not relax. Something very weird and wrong was happening here, and his eyes darted down the hallway, wondering if he could somehow make a run for it.

"Help? What d' you want me to do, look after the General?" He asked, trying to get more information out of the man, even if he wanted to be done, gone out of this whole business.

"Sephiroth?! No, you fool! I have my ways of monitoring him that you need not know about, boy!" Reno would've dearly loved to tell him off for referring to a full-fledged Turk as boy, but Hojo was backing him into a wall. "I don't want him, I want the trooper!"

Reno blinked in utter shock. "What?"

"Useless I say, useless! But I have no other options." Hojos eyes were now level with him, and through the glasses, he could see a feverish gleam that frankly, scared the shit out of him.

"You mean…what's-his-face, Strife? Cloud Strife?" He chanced, and drew back as the fire in Hojo's eyes grew brighter.

"Yes! That is who I mean!"

"How the hell you know he's even gonna be at Nibelheim, or that he's even alive, yo?" Okay, questioning Creep-show's methods was perhaps his stupidest idea yet, but this was a special circumstance.

"Did I not say I had it on good faith that they would be there?! Stop asking useless questions!" Hojo backed away again and was muttering to himself, but Reno was staying put against the wall. "You will find him. And you will bring him back to Shinra, whether he resists or not. And you will tell  _no one_ you are working for me!"

Reno opened his mouth, about to declare Tseng (or Veld) was the only one able to give him orders, but Hojo stopped him again by invading his personal space. "I am the Head of the Department of Scientific Research, which means the Turks must also answer to me! And if you tell Tseng or Sephiroth or  _anyone_ about this…well, that wouldn't be the first time a Turk has disappeared."

As quickly as he was there, Hojo had stepped back and was walking away, down the hall, mumbling to himself. Reno stayed put for another second, gathering himself and taking a deep breath. His fingers had been itching to unleash his EMR on the man, but it would've been a bad idea; as creepy as he was, the Professor was still Reno's superior.

_I got this, its cool._ Mad at himself for letting one stupid scientist unnerve him like that, he walked quickly down the hallway to Sephiroth's office, which suddenly seemed safe in comparison. The final thing Hojo had said to him rang in Reno's ears as he walked, and he shuddered.

_He's just trying to intimidate me,_ the red-head thought, calming himself down.  _There's no way he could ever touch a Turk._


	6. On Our Way Home

The trip over the ocean was a lot better then everything else because of one thing and one thing only: Zack, in his infinite wisdom, had remembered to get Cloud some medicine for his motion sickness. He'd never taken it before because it was expensive, and for some reason, he never liked taking medicine.

This time however, he relented. One tablet was all it took and he was out like a light. Zack had left him down in their temporary room while he went up top, presumably to check on Angeal-who was doing his best to stay hidden-and Cloud didn't mind. It was a great respite from normally spending the entire trip leaning over a railing, even if it did have his friend coming back every five minutes and asking him if he felt okay. Cloud replied with a muttered swear word every time he got pulled out of his dozing.

And that was how, after what felt like about two days later, they finally arrived. He just remembered Zack's rough hands shaking him awake and his voice telling him they had to go and now here he was, standing on an outpost by the shore, blinking the sun out of his eyes.

He looked around, blearily noticing Angeal was nowhere to be found, though his SOLDIER friend had whispered softly he'd join up once they were away from people.

"But for now, chocobos!" Zack declared loudly, puffing out his chest. Cloud snorted at that, but picked up the pack his friend had grudgingly given him and headed over to the lady who rented them out for travelers.

The impromptu nap he had on the ship had done wonders for his energy levels-that and the food Zack kept forcing on him-he was now far more alert and excited. After all, this was the first time he was ever going to see and even better, ride a chocobo.

Living in Nibelheim, no one ever got out much and no one ever took chocobos up there. After all, what exactly was there to see? Nothing but an abandoned reactor, really. And Midgar didn't have any either, since the birds probably couldn't stand the pollution. Like materia, Cloud always had a weird fascination with chocobos since he was little, especially since his mother (and a few thousand other people) declared he looked  _just_ like one. He'd seen pictures but didn't know how they were getting that at all.

However, seeing the pen with a few of the large, fluffy birds, his eyes grew wide and he nearly tripped over his own feet. A chocobo. A real, living chocobo! Cloud could feel a smile growing on his face and he ran towards them, disregarding Zack entirely. There were two of the normal yellow ones, which he saw now did resemble the color of his hair (no he  _still_ didn't see it!), but a couple of the larger green variety-mountain chocobos, if he recalled correctly-were the ones the caught his attention.

The green chocobo turned its head towards him, warking softly. Cloud cocked his head. "Hello there."

He felt a bit silly talking to a bird, but it trotted closer to him. These birds were so much better now that he could actually touch and interact with one, so he was having the time of his life.

"Hello," Cloud said again, holding out his hand. The green chocobo trotted swiftly towards him, staring at his hand, then him.

He gently reached out to touch its head, slightly nervous because he heard they could be ornery. Monsters were scared of them for a reason, after all…but this was not the case. Instead, the chocobo leaned down towards him and he started petting it on the side of its neck.

"I see you've made a new friend there." A voice said from behind him, and he jumped, whirling around to see the chocobo lady, laughing.

"I-well-I've…" Now he felt dumb. "I've never seen a chocobo before…"

She chuckled again. "Nah, its fine. Always love meetin' someone who's a fan of these guys. Though that one's really taken to ya! She's pretty bad-tempered otherwise."

The chocobo in question had started nuzzling his head since he turned around. Cloud tried gently swatting her away but she squawked in protest, her head pushing him to a stumble. Zack was a little ways away, trying to hide his amusement and failing miserably. He sidled over to the trooper casually, causing the rancher to turn towards him.

"Well, either way, can I help ya two with somethin'?" She said, turning, a sudden look of distaste on her face at Zack's uniform.

Cloud turned back to the chocobo, who was now pecking at his scarf, not wanting to miss a minute with these wonderful birds, even if she was being a bit annoying.

"Yeah, we're trying to get across these mountains so if you could, we'd like to rent three chocobos, ma'am," Zack said, with his most pleasing smile.

"Hmm. I suppose you're going to pay?" She said incredulously. Zack never let up a single ounce of his charm.

"Of course, ma'am, why wouldn't I? Besides, its the quickest way through the mountains and that one seems friendly already," Zack said with a wry smile towards Cloud. The other chocobos were starting to take notice of him too, though one of them was skulking towards the back.  _Was that a black one?_

The gate was open for prospective customers, so while Zack won over the chocobo lady, he sneaked inside, avoiding the same green one that squeaked at him and headed to that shadow in the back.

The shadow turned out to be a small black chocobo, or at least, smaller then the others he'd seen in the pen. The bird in question looked up from the grass it was inspecting and screeched loudly at him. Cloud jumped a bit, but since it wasn't attacking, he didn't back down. Black types were typically rare, so why hadn't this one been claimed?

The bird cocked its head at him, as if sizing him up and then trotted slowly over, screeching again in his face.  _What is this birds problem…_

Apparently nothing, as it fluffed up its wings a little and then began resolutely pecking at Cloud's hair.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Cloud backed away, furiously rubbing at his head, which only agitated the black one further.

"I daresay he's thinks you're one a' them and trying to groom you!" The chocobo lady had come up behind him again, along with Zack. Cloud gave his amused face a glare, his hands held firmly on his head.

"But why? And why is he so small?" Now the black one was following him around, squawking softly and trying to worm its way underneath Cloud's fingers.

"Your hair, chocobo boy." Zack finally couldn't contain himself. Cloud just ignored him.

"So anyway, we need three chocobos."

"Three? Ya only got the two a' you here."

"Well…it would be easier to put our supplies on one of them, keep away the monsters." Zack said so smoothly that the lady nodded enthusiastically along.

"I can guarantee you and your stuff'll stay safe on these guys! No monsters will come within a mile's radius!" The lady looked back at the black chocobo who was now contentedly eating Cloud's hair, as he had given up. "Hmm…you know, if you really want that black one, you can pay the normal rental price an' just keep him."

Cloud looked up suddenly. "Really?"

She shrugged. "Yeah. Well, while he's a black chocobo, he's still the runt of his litter, so t' speak, an' not many people find a use for such a small one. Plus, he's a bit ornery around people sometimes. You, however, you're the perfect size an' he's taken to you already…"

Cloud looked back at the small chocobo with a weird twinge of sympathy. He stared back at the trooper, shaking his head.  _So they think you're useless too, huh?_

Reaching out to slowly scratch the chocobo's neck, he turned back. "I can uh…take him, then. If that works?"

He looked over at Zack, suddenly wondering if this was okay. What the hell was he even going to do with a chocobo afterwards? But his friend was smiling again. "That's totally great. This little guy can get a home then!"

The chocobo lady clapped her hands together. "It's settled then, I'm guessin'. So come over here for a moment and let the kid here handle the birds. He's got that covered." She winked and then put her hand on Zack's arm, leading him off.

_Zack…how do you do that…._

Ten or so minutes later-once Cloud had figured out how-the three chocobos were saddled, and their stuff was put away.  _Now,_ he thought to himself, staring at the side of the black bird,  _the hard part._

Not wanting to be embarrassing in front of Zack, or much less the chocobo lady, he slowly attempted to climb the bird, only to end up hanging off the other side. "Zack…I need some help…"

His friend merely laughed at him and helped him get into the saddle properly, the chocobo turning and peeping at him as if to see if he was okay. "Can we please just leave?"

"Right. The road to Nibelheim is long. Farewell, my beautiful lady, and I thank you again for your service!" Zack gave a jaunty wave to the chocobo lady, who looked a bit stunned in her reaction.

"It's always a pleasure f' someone like you. Stay safe now!" She smiled in return as they led their feathery charges out of the outpost.

After they, got a fair distance away from civilization, Angeal swooped down and landed beside them. Zack tossed him the reins of one of the green chocobos.

"That went quicker then I thought it would," he said, settling himself as the bird squawked.

"Well, with my charm, and Cloud's uncanny chocobo-whispering abilities, we can pull something like this off, easy!" Zack grinned back.

Angeal merely raised a questioning eyebrow, while Cloud's chocobo again turned its head to peck at his hair. "Need I say more?"

"They think Cloud is a chick, its beautiful!" Cloud was tempted to throw something at his friend, if it weren't for fending off the birds attacks on his head. "Oh also, we actually bought that one."

Angeal pulled up next to the trooper. "Really?"

He turned his head down, hiding in his scarf. "I uh…yeah. Felt sort of bad for him."

"I see. Does he have a name?"

Cloud looked up in suprise. "No?"

"Well if he's yours, he probably wants a name." Angeal smiled slightly before pulling ahead. Cloud shot a glare at the younger SOLDIER, who was still making faces at him, an idea forming in his head.

"I've got the perfect name for you. You're annoying, won't leave me alone, and all black and spiky," he said gently, patting the black birds neck. "How about Zack?"

" _HEY!_ "

* * *

Unfortunately for the real Zack, the name stuck, and Cloud happily rode on with his newly dubbed bird. It certainly was a strange experience riding a chocobo for the first time-the first few minutes he was desperately clinging to the reins. It wasn't until he relaxed and finally trusted the chocobo to do what it did the best that he began to really enjoy it.

Now that he was moving, the miles started melting away and it suddenly seemed like an easy task to be able to reach Nibelheim, despite all the doubts he had before. It also saved Cloud from having to walk on wobbly legs, which helped a lot. It was like a dream.

He only worried about what he was going to do with the chocobo after they reached his hometown, since he had nowhere to put him, but every time he brought it up with Zack, he just waved away any concerns.

"Don't worry Cloud, I got it covered," he said, and trotted off to annoy Angeal again. Patting the other Zack on the head, the trooper could only hope he was right.

* * *

They made good time; by the time they first set up camp, they could already see the famous Rocket Town. The second time, they'd passed the town completely and gotten to the edge of the Nibel mountains. A breeze blew past him as he stared up at the looming shapes. "Never thought I'd be returning there like this…"

"You say somethin' Cloud?" Zack had come up behind him.

"Huh? Ah, no. Nothing really. Just…" he gestured helplessly at the mountains.

"It's wierd coming home, right?"

"Yeah…" Cloud allowed himself an ironic smile. He certainly wasn't going towards town if he could help it, not with Tifa and his mother around.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay." Zack's hands dropped onto his shoulders unexpectedly, causing him to jump."Really, I promise."

Cloud merely stared back at his friends encouraging smile.

"I'm betting you promised people there you'd be a SOLDIER, and you don't want to go back like this, huh?"

How. How did he-"How did you know-"

Zack smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Doesn't take a genius to figure it out. You worry too much Cloud. I'm sure they'll be proud of you anyways."

He must've made a face because Zack immediately looked guilty. "Hey, don't give me that Cloud, I'm sorry. You won't have to go back into town if you don't want to. Actually its probably better that way."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry. Guess I'm just a bit tired or something."

"No, it's okay. I know what you mean." He sort of tried to smile to cheer his friend up and it worked, at least partly. Zack grinned again and ruffled Cloud's hair.

"Well okay then, you get some sleep! And don't let the chocobos wander off!" Cloud elbowed him in the stomach, which did nothing, and stormed off to go lie down by Zack the chocobo, muttering about certain stupid first classes. He hoped this depressing feeling in his gut would go away soon though-these were some of the best moments he ever had and he didn't want it marred by the fact he couldn't let his past go.

When he fell asleep that night, he dreamed about the pretty girl in the flowers again, but this time, she just looked sad.

* * *

After Cloud had fallen asleep by the chocobos, Zack stayed up a little longer, despite Angeal's insistence he go to sleep. There were things he needed to talk about. Two, specifically, and both of them had to do with his mentor.

"Zack, I told you I'd keep watch," Angeal sighed as his student came and sat down next to him.

"Please. I can see through your excuses. Besides, the chocobos will keep any of the monsters away." He waved his hand, trying to get to the subject he wanted.

"No need for all of us to be exhausted."

"Cut the crap, Angeal. I'm not going away," he said curtly, serious for once. This seemed to register with the older first class, who sobered up as well. There were a few more moments of silence and listening to a far-off monster growl before either of them said anything.

"What is it, Zack? I presume it's something you didn't want to say in front of Cloud?" As always, his teacher was right on the mark.

"Ahaha, you got me," he smiled a little bit, "but yeah. Angeal…I don't really think we should be taking him along with us…"

Angeal shifted so he was now looking at his student, the dim light not affecting their mako-drenched eyes. "You just now decided to doubt the little trooper's skills?"

"Ha, don't let him catch you calling him that!" Zack shook his head. "No, it's really not that. Look, its just…we're really getting in deep to this business with the experimentation and Hojo and Hollander and everything. Angeal, you  _know_ what happens to people who get involved with this stuff."

He cast his gaze back at Cloud, curled up peacefully on the black bird with a ridiculous name. He really was a great kid, to stick with them all this way, and to help his mentor out so much. Zack felt as though he owed the boy something, seeing how he had convinced his mentor and dear friend to come back in one piece. Protecting him from the madness of Shinra was really the least he could do.

"I know, Zack. If it were my choice, I wouldn't want him along, but not for the reasons he thinks. Perhaps…perhaps it would've been better for him to think I was a monster, so he would not get involved." Angeal sounded tired.

"Angeal…" A warning tone crept into his voice.

"Relax, I will not sink so easily into despair again." Angeal's hand settled down on his shoulder, and Zack felt warm from the familiar gesture, just another little reminder that this Angeal was the real one. He was alive.

But Cloud…

"That's good to hear. But seriously. I don't want him getting into this. Hell, I don't even know if the kid knows what he's getting himself into at all," Zack said, gesturing helplessly at the sky.

"I talked to him early one morning about why he never ran away, despite having several opportunities to do so. It seems as though that option had never even occurred to him." Angeal said, lowering his voice again.

Zack blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"If he is that determined to stick around, I hardly think anything we say will deter him. Cloud is a smart kid-it's possible he's starting to put the pieces together anyway." Angeal stared down at his gloved hands. "He thinks himself a friend of yours, and I assume vice versa. Do you truly want to abandon him?"

"Nooo, no no no! Not at all. But you know…I thought since he was a trooper, no one would pay attention to him. Course it'd be great for him to stick around, I just…"

"Zack, it's okay. I get it. But you don't need to hover like a mother chocobo. He made his decision," Angeal spoke softly, but the words carried a great weight. Zack knew he was right. But…seeing Cloud like that, full of hope that he may possibly achieve his dream, there was no way he wanted it twisted and tainted by the same poison that had infected his mentor and even the general himself.

_But Cloud is Cloud. He can make his own choice…_

"Can I at least..talk to him tomorrow about it? He deserves to know what he's getting into." Zack asked him.

"That sounds good to me. However, I trust you'll both be prompt?" A little bit of that teasing light had come back into Angeal's eyes, and Zack snorted, shoving his mentor's shoulder.

"Shut uuup. And don't think you're out of the blue on this either! How are YOU feeling, and no lies!" Zack pointed a finger straight up at the grey streaks in Angeal's hair.

"Zack, I'm fi-"

"Don't give me that shit, Angeal." Zack gave him a glare and surprisingly, the older man relented.

"I'm tired, yes. And everything hurts. But there is nothing I can do about it now. Foolishly clinging to life…"

"Will you shut up about that? We'll find a way to help you, got it? I mean look at what we've done so far! Surely that isn't impossible!" Angeal merely looked away from him, so he continued. "I'll tell you this now, you're a hell of a lot better off then Genesis is."

Angeal flinched, and immediately Zack knew he'd said something wrong. "I'm sorry, I uh-"

His mentor waved off his concerns. "It's fine, Zack. I know what you mean. Genesis…had never been as stable, you could say. As for the degradation, his case is the most pronounced. I do not pretend to get his motives, but when I fought him…I was hoping to see some of my old friend in there. To see if it was not too late for him."

Zack felt as though he was treading on sacred ground again, since all he knew about their relationship was the little Angeal and Sephiroth had revealed. He hated seeing his mentor so down about this, losing the people he cared about left and right to a plague of bad intentions.

_But it is my turn to be the support_ , he thought, setting a hand down gently on his mentors shoulder, as Angeal did to him many times as well. "Angeal, we'll save him. I swear."

Angeal looked up, truly surprised, and a flicker of hope appeared in his eyes. Zack's heart jumped-how long had it been since he'd seen that?

"I…thank you, Zack." He smiled, genuinely and wearily, as if he could finally rest. And Zack let him, as the night slowly drifted on.

* * *

Cloud did not wake up on his own this time, but rather to the mouth of a black chocobo clamped firmly onto his head.

"ZACK, WHAT THE HELL?! GET OFF OF ME!" he yelled, trying to shove the bird off. The other Zack-and Angeal-were both up and ready in less then three seconds, the older first class staring at his student.

"What? I'm not even near him!" Zack said loudly, turning to Cloud. Angeal stared for a moment before comprehension dawned on his face, and he actually laughed.

"Well, we're awake now, so get up." He started walking around the camp, picking things up and repacking. Cloud had a feeling the large man was having a hard time concealing his amusement at this whole incident.

"This is all YOUR FAULT for naming your stupid chicken that!" Zack gave a glare at the chocobo, who squawked and looked as smug as ever. This time Cloud started laughing, and had to narrowly dodge a small rock his friend pelted at him.

About a half-hour later, after they had eaten and got moving again, Zack immediately cheered up, though he steered clear of Angeal's bird, who had given him a resounding peck to his hand as he tried to wake her up.

Cloud took in a deep breath, exhaling as it came out in a puff of fog. The temperature had dropped again as they started into the mountains, though he knew it would be worse than the Modeoheim area, due to the high winds. But the air still smelled the same, the cold was still sudden and biting, and the Nibel Mountains as beautiful and deadly as ever. Home. He was going home.

It was a disquieting feeling, going back like this, especially since he was essentially a fugitive. Cloud knew-and hoped-that when they got to the Shinra mansion, Zack was right and they didn't have to go into town. Meeting anyone in the state he was now would just be a nightmare.

And also, there was the issue of them meeting up with Sephiroth. At first, when the three of them had agreed to the plan, Cloud hadn't thought much about it, since it was so far away. But now, back in these mountains, it was growing closer and closer, and the trooper knew he would have to face the man he had admired his whole life in his own town. Great. Two nightmares at once.

"Cloud, what sort of monsters live in this area?" Surprisingly, it was Angeal who broke through his depressing inner monologue.

"Uh well…with chocobos it shouldn't be a problem."

"I know, but there is no harm in being prepared." Angeal's voice was gentle.

"Well, towards town, thats where the wolves and the weird bird things usually are. Maybe some other small plant-like guys, I forget their name." Cloud combed his somewhat foggy memory. "Up higher, where we'll be, unfortunately is where the dragons are. They like nesting around the peaks, and you have to watch out for the bombs. Basically everything is nasty and wants to kill you."

"I expected nothing less from the infamous Nibel mountains," Angeal said. Cloud glanced at him. Was this area really that notorious for powerful monsters, or were all mountain ranges like that? "I don't suppose you could guide us down there from here?"

Cloud froze up again. It was true that he was a native but many of them, except for the exceptionally brave hunter, stayed away from the accursed mountains. In fact, he could only think of one person in the entire village who would know all the paths, and he was probably older then Nibelheim itself.

_Still, I can't let them down. I need to pull my own weight around here._

_"_ Well sir…to tell you the truth, none of us in Nibelheim ever go into the mountains that far. The highest up we go is around the reactor area. I'm just heading in the general direction right now, but if we hit the reactor, then I'll be able to lead you," he said. It was the best he could do. Angeal nodded thoughtfully, like he expected that answer, and Cloud noticed Zack had pulled up behind to listen in.

"We'll do our best!" the black haired man crowed, causing both of them to stare incredulously.

"Then don't go wandering off and get eaten by something," Cloud retorted. "I'm not rescuing you from a dragon."

"Oh ye of little faith. Would the great Zack Fair ever do something like that?" he asked, letting go of the reins and nearly falling off his chocobo.

"Need I tell your friend embarrassing stories of your training days?" Angeal smirked in retaliation. Zack shook his head.

"Nope. No you don't. I'll keep my mouth shut." The three of them continued on in this manner, only stopping to take a short break and try to figure out their bearings. Cloud told them the reactor should be obvious-it was a tall, dark structure, and the strongest monsters tended to congregate around it.

"Hey, spiky." Zack came up next to him while they were just standing around. "Angeal says if you're correct about where the reactor is, we'll probably be able to make it to Nibelheim tomorrow."

"That sounds good to me." Cloud noticed Zack seemed a bit off, not in a bad way, but like he wanted to say something more. He waited.

"Say Cloud…"

"Yeah?" He asked, turning around.

"Can I talk to you when we make camp tonight? I need to uh well…talk to you about something," Zack said apologetically. Cloud's gut grew icy-cold, as the moment he feared seemed to suddenly appear. Did they finally decide to throw him out?

_No,_ the rational voice in his head whispered.  _Angeal said you could trust both of them._

"I-um, w-why?" Cloud stuttered, and Zack immediately smiled, patting the trooper on the back.

"Don't worry, Cloud, its nothing horrible, I swear. I don't hate you or anything. Just…something important. Okay?" He asked.

Cloud took another shaky breath, willing himself to stay calm. "Yeah, okay."

Zack gave another reassuring smile, shot a glare at his chocobo, and left Cloud standing there, wondering what was so important he needed to tell him alone. Maybe he really didn't want him around or…there was something more to this business then either of them mentioned. Something to do with the warriors who had angel's wings.

* * *

Angeal had a very good judge of distance, because by the time they set up camp, Cloud could see the reactor faintly. Judging by how fast these mountain chocobos moved, they'd easily make it to the Shinra manor tomorrow. He was both excited and scared about this prospect, so he focused on what mattered: he'd finally get to meet the great General of SOLDIER, Sephiroth.

"Hey Cloud, wanna go for a walk for a little bit?"

Right. There was that too. He nodded reluctantly as he followed Zack away from the camp that Angeal was setting up. It was silent for a little while, though Cloud didn't once believe Zack's claim he was just going out to melt some water for their supplies.

He stopped at a flat spot that had a layer of fresh powdery snow on it. "Right. I know I said I was gonna talk to you about something."

Cloud stayed silent, just waiting for his friend to speak, his stomach twisting itself into knots. Zack sighed, betraying some uneasiness Cloud rarely saw in the first class.

"I know you think its probably something horrible, like we hate you and want you to leave Cloud, but its not like that at all," he said softly.

"Then what is it?" He leaned forward slightly, trying to watch Zack's face.

"Well, I…don't really know if you have a good grasp of this situation you're getting yourself involved in. And I'm worried about  _getting_  you involved," Zack said bluntly. Cloud's fists tightened by his side. So he DIDN'T want him coming along. And he thought that he could trust-

"It's not like that, so don't you even dare start thinking like that!" He looked up, startled. It was as if Zack read his thoughts.

"Honestly Cloud, you can be really frustrating sometimes. But it's not because you're weak or whatever you're spouting off earlier." Zack took another, deeper breath. "It's because…I've seen what getting involved can do to people and it never turns out well. You're my friend, I don't want that to happen to you."

There was a look to Zack's eyes as he spoke those words, and suddenly the air around him seemed very weary and old. The glimmer of life that was so present in him was suddenly lost and Cloud was struck with a very different cold feeling- that Zack had indeed fought in the Wutaiian war and probably faced many horrors in this new rebellion against Shinra.

"I'm…"What was he to say to that? One look and Cloud knew that Zack was right. He did not know any of what he was getting himself into. What Angeal was so angry about, who that red-coated man was, why so many of the monsters had looked human. Why Shinra was so determined to eliminate Zack's friend that they had to hide from the company. And most of all, how Sephiroth was connected. Cloud was the weird missing link-a mere trooper, way in over his head.

"I know stuff is going on that I don't know about. I just don't know if there's anything I can do by sticking around and whether you guys would be better off without me," he mumbled into his scarf. Zack's face fell, realizing he'd made his friend sad.

"It's not that we don't want you here, just that neither of us want you caught up in this shit when you don't have to be! You're a trooper Cloud, you could just easily say you got caught up in the confusion but then escaped when you could. You could go back!" Zack pleaded.

"I don't think they'd accept that, and I definitely don't! How could I run away now? You are my friends!" Cloud surprised himself with the outburst, but Zack was making him angry, saying he should just run away.

It only took a moment for Zack to gather himself. "Do you really think that? You realize what kind of danger you might be put in?"

Cloud laughed shortly. "We're fugitives on the run from the top Shinra dogs with a supposedly K.I.A. SOLDIER. I'm fairly certain of what could possibly happen."

"Alright, if you're sure just…." Zack sighed, sitting down on a rock and rubbing his face with his hands. "I just brought you out here to ask you one thing. Are you willing to come with us, no matter what happens?"

Cloud looked down at his feet. He was scared, it was true, but he'd come too far. Zack was his friend, and so was Angeal. They had already done so much for him and he couldn't let them down, with whatever meager things he could do.

"I'm in," Cloud said, determined.

Zack smiled, albeit somewhat sadly. "I figured you probably would be. Well either way, I'm still glad you're coming with us."

He stood up and walked over, suddenly folding the trooper in a hug. "If there's ever anything,  _anything at all,_ you need help with, you can tell me and I'll be there. Got it?"

Cloud nodded, suddenly blinking back tears. Where did this come from? It sounded as though he was afraid Cloud would just vanish into smoke.

"You'll be fine, spiky." Zack let go, but not before ruffling Cloud's hair again, getting a customary growl of annoyance from the trooper. "Also, when we meet up with Sephiroth I'll get him to tell you the full story. I'd do it but I don't have all the details."

Cloud grinned, at least for Zack's benefit. He was rather curious about this whole situation, and what was so important they thought Angeal had to literally die to keep it a secret. He turned back to his friend, his eyes suddenly widening in horror when he saw what was behind Zack.

"What? Did I say something? Do I have something on my face?" he asked, but Cloud just pointed at the large mountain dragon that had climbed up behind him. Zack turned and suddenly jumped back, yelling at Cloud to get down. The dragon roared, the back of its throat glowing, and he knew what was going to come next. The two of them hit the snow as a column of fire roared over their heads, frying the edges of their hair.

"How the hell is there a dragon all the way down here?!" Cloud yelled. And how did he not notice it was there?

"I don't know, maybe we made it angry but we need to move!" Zack dragged Cloud upwards and over to the left as the dragon steadied itself and then lunged with its head. He heard a sound of a sword swinging through the air and then the dragon stumbled back a bit, screaming in pain.

"Shit, this is not good…Cloud, go tell Angeal, will you?! I think I can handle it but just in case-" Zack got cut off again as the dragon's tail whipped around. Cloud glanced around quickly. It seemed the dragon was distracted by the SOLDIER, but it was more of a question of if he could move fast enough. He slowly inched his way behind a rock, as Zack yelled and took another few swings at the dragon.

He wished he had more time to admire the way he seamlessly handled his sword and took all the dragon's attacks, but right now, the trooper was more focused on not being stomped to death. As soon as the creatures head swung away, Cloud jumped over the rock and ran for it. He almost made it too, had it not been for the tip of its tail swinging into him and knocking him into a newly-melted mud puddle.

He heard Zack shout his name, and flipped over quickly. The dragon had turned, ignoring the human with a sword for the currently mud-covered floundering one. It's eyes bore straight into him, blinking a couple times, before it reared back and began to summon forth fire again. Cloud put his hands up, desperately thinking maybe he could counter-attack with his materia, when his ears suddenly popped and a large crackle of lightning struck the dragon's right side, searing it.

The dragon screamed again, this time in pain and flailed wildly. Cloud managed to roll out of the way of one of its talons, as Zack, not even waiting for his arm to stop glowing took a hold of his sword, jumped high into the air and brought his sword down in an arc at the dragon's neck. The sword cut through scale and bone, severing the head, and causing the body to fall with a earth-shattering thump.

It was quiet for a few moments as Cloud tried to calm his heart rate down from the near-death experience. "Holy….Goddess above…."

"Tell me about it…" Zack quickly rushed over to where Cloud was, pulling him up and checking for injuries. "You okay? Nothing wrong?"

"Aside from the fact I have mud up my nose and nearly eaten by a dragon, I'm fine," he said.

"Well, its good we'll get to Nibelheim soon, I'm sure we can find you a new uniform somehow!" Zack laughed, clapping him on the back and then going to wipe off his blade in the snow.

"Thanks, Zack."

"No problem, kid. Just be sure to pay me back when you become SOLDIER, got it?" Zack pointed a finger at him as he started to head back to camp. Cloud rolled his eyes but smiled again anyway.

"It's a promise."

 


	7. The Lost Number

Tseng looked up slightly as the door to his office opened, stopping in surprise when he saw who it was.

"Rude, can I help you?" The taciturn man rarely appeared unless he was needed, and Tseng most certainly had not sent for him. Rude looked at him briefly before reaching a gloved hand into his coat pocket and pulling out a piece of paper.

"Reno asked me to give this to you when he was leaving," Rude said curtly, handing him the neatly folded square. Tseng took it, staring at him in confusion. What exactly was Reno up to?

He unfolded the paper, taking in the words scrawled there. This was getting stranger and stranger…

He looked back up at Rude. "Did he say anything to you when he gave you this?"

The bald man shook his head. So nothing of importance then, but why had he written this on the piece of paper when Reno could have easily come to his office and told him? Normally, Tseng would have written it off as the boy being late for leaving for his mission, but on something as high-profile as this, not even the red-head would slack off.

"Is something wrong?" Tseng looked up at Rude again, almost having forgotten he was there.

"No. At least I think so. Thank you, Rude." He dismissed the large man, wanting to get to the bottom of the strange message. Rude nodded slightly then left.

_This whole business is off._ Turks were trained to notice connections between events, to uncover lies and conspiracies. And Reno, leaving a strange note as he left on a mission to support a supposedly K.I.A. SOLDIER…

The only other reason to do such a thing was that something was very, very wrong.

* * *

Angeal was not happy to learn of their escapade with the dragon, after Zack and Cloud had returned to camp covered in blood and in Cloud's case, mud. Reminding him of how close they were to Nibelheim however, was a good enough distraction that they continued on without a fuss.

A couple hours later and they reached the reactor, which was giving Cloud the same horrible feeling as the red-coated man-and sometimes Angeal-did. It was like a skin of dark dust hung over the looming structure, even though the air and sky were as clear as ever.  _Danger, something bad,_  it seemed to whisper and the creeping sense started to turn his stomach.

"We can head down here past that mako spring and it will only be a little while," he said quickly, eager to get as far away from the reactor as possible. As much as he liked climbing the mountain before the bridge incident, the reactor had always given him that horrible sense of wrongness, and now it was compounded tenfold.

"The Shinra Manor is right outside town, correct?" Angeal asked as they headed downward.

"Yeah. We should be able to sneak in without being seen." Cloud had heard rumors of a sewer system but he didn't know if they existed, or if they did, where they were. "It'll help that the villagers will stay away from it as much as they can."

"Because its Shinra?" Zack piped up.

"Because it's haunted." Cloud had gone up to it a few times, once with Tifa, and the rest himself, but he'd never seen any evidence of it being haunted. Still, it had that strange feeling…

"Ooooh, spooky," Zack said, earning him a glare.

"Zack, take this seriously," Angeal answered.

Right. There were two SOLDIERs and a Nibelheim native. Why should they be afraid of nonexistent ghosts?

* * *

The door was locked, but Tseng had entered the room Reno and Rude shared anyway. None of the Turks really cared this happened-they were surprisingly comfortable with each other, and only a Turk could break into another Turk's room in the first place. (For Reno, it was used more for pranks, which had led to a lot of trouble.)

What Tseng was interested in, however, was what the note had said.

' _Remember those Banora apples you wanted? They're in the fridge. Help yourself.'_

A completely innocuous note, except for one thing: Reno knew that Tseng wasn't fond of those fruit. In fact, he had explicitly said so to the red-head on more then one occasion.  _Trust Reno to remember something like that._

Tseng walked carefully over to the fridge, stepping around what looked like a spare crumpled suit, and opened the door. He leaned back slightly as a blast of cool air came out and then peered back inside.

As he thought, there were no apples. In fact, the fridge barely looked used at all. He rifled around in the shelves until he found what he was looking for: the drawer at the near bottom where fruit was usually kept. Inside was another folded up note, though this one was less neat then the other. He picked it up and closed up the fridge, making his way out of the room. This was a matter best left for the security of his office.

* * *

They had descended enough that the trio finally saw the greenery covering the snow and rocks. Nibelheim looked like it had recently has a small storm, so there were dustings of snow here and there, but it was mostly melted into the grass.

Cloud had managed to clean most of the mud out of his hair, but lamented in the fact that the Shinra Manor would most likely not have running water.  _I'll just find a pond or something and do it the old fashioned way._

"Hey, I can see buildings over there!" Zack pointed down the west valley.

"That's Nibelheim. We have to go that way." Cloud indicated the little area to the right. "That's where the Shinra Manor is."

"Wow, it's that close? You sure we'll be okay?"

"Yeah. With Shinra around we should be." At least, Cloud hoped they'd keep all the villagers away, since Sephiroth's fame extended even all the way here, and the last thing he needed was them seeing a renegade soldier, or worse, him.

"Alright, just a few minutes more," Angeal said, and they increased their pace.

They almost had made it inside the fence-which was unlocked-before a voice stopped them.

"You better stop, or I'll shoot!"

* * *

The note that the red-head had left him was double-encrypted with a simple shift cypher and Reno's own terrible handwriting. After spending five minutes figuring out that was a an f and not a fancy t, Tseng finally pieced together Reno's message, and his fears were confirmed.

_'Hey Boss, it's a roundabout way of telling you, but somethings very wrong with this case. Before I left, you-know-who contacted me and said he wanted me to bring one of the people at Nibelheim back. Somehow he knew 'those guys' were going to be there as well. Just letting you know, even if your orders take precedence.'_

Tseng stared at the note for several moments. Even after hiding it this much, Reno was still being intentionally vague. He briefly wondered what sort of danger he was in to be this cryptic, even in the middle of headquarters, but you-know-who….

The only person that scared Reno that much was Hojo.

_Shit._

Tseng suddenly reached for his phone, stopping short as he remembered he couldn't contact Sephiroth, or especially Zack, right now. He cursed, realizing there was nothing he could do. What exactly was happening, and why was Hojo suddenly using these underhanded tactics? Tseng needed to know what was going on.

But bringing someone back…who was it in that group that he wanted? Was it Angeal, because of his experiment? Tseng looked back at the small post-script Reno had tacked on.

_P.S. Oh, and as for the guy he wants me to bring back, here's a hint: what can you find in the sky?_

Did that count out Angeal? There didn't seem to be a connection at all. He discounted Sephiroth immediately-Hojo wouldn't bother with something like this for him. Zack Fair-his last name sort of fit but it just didn't feel ri-

_What was that trooper's name?_

His memory didn't fail him.

_What can you find in the sky? Clouds._

_Cloud._

_Hojo wants Cloud Strife._

* * *

The three suddenly froze as the voice continued speaking. "What're you guys doin' here on Shinra property?"

Angeal had one hand hovered near his sword, but Zack suddenly held his up. "Wait a minute, I recognize that voice…"

Zack turned around slowly, then dropped his defensive stance when he saw who it was. "Reno! Not cool, man!"

Cloud and Angeal stared at the younger first class, then at the figure that had snuck up behind him. He was a Turk, definitely-the wrinkled and untucked suit gave that away. He was grinning like he'd just won a fight, with a shock of bright red-hair and two small streaks of a tattoo under his eyes to match.

"Hey, hey, got to be careful around here, y'know? Something could sneak up on you when you least expect it." The Turk brought up a baton that was in his left hand and rested it on his shoulders.

"You…know this kid?" Angeal looked at Zack, demanding an answer. Cloud stayed silent in the back, curious as well.

"Yeah. Angeal, Cloud, meet Reno. I'm guessing you're the new recruit that Tseng sent over?" Zack asked.

Reno just grinned again and nodded.

"Wonderful. Where's Sephiroth?"

"He's just inside, yo. Sent me out here to wait for you guys." Reno waved his hand in the manor's general direction. Angeal was still staring at him like he didn't trust the guy, and Cloud didn't blame him. He was after all, an unknown factor, though Zack seemed to be fairly comfortable with the red-headed Turk.

"We better head inside before someone spots us. Cloud, can you go with Reno and hide the chocobos in the back?" Angeal took control again. He nodded, rather unnerved to be left alone with a Turk.

_I can trust Tseng, right? He wouldn't send anyone terrible._

_"_ Don't get in trouble, and come in once you're done, okay? Oh and keep your swords on you, remember what I taugh-Angeal, what are you doing?" Zack stammered.

"Let's get going, puppy, before you break something." The two of them, having dismounted, headed off towards the main doors, Zack being partly dragged by his mentor. Cloud looked at them until they disappeared, and sat there awkwardly for a minute.

"You gonna space-out, or come down from there, spiky?" Cloud started, shooting a glare over at Reno. He'd forgotten the Turk was there.

"Don't call me spiky," he muttered, and then got off of Zack the chocobo, who was eyeing Reno like he was a good treat.

He hit the ground next to the red-head and stood up fully, stretching out a bit to loosen himself after riding on a bird all day. Cloud then turned to Reno and was taken aback. All the Turks he had met or seen were intimidating and often large-in either presence or body. It was different then the SOLDIERS, who focused on bulk: the Turks were more like assassins, embodying stealth, danger, and pure concentrated power.

Which was why Cloud was so surprised that Reno was just as short and small as he was. Cloud, in all his 5' 4" glory, was hoping one day that he'd hit puberty and become as tall as someone like Zack but with each year that passed, it just pushed that dream farther to the wind. And now it seemed, Reno had the same problem, though he seemed far less bothered by it.

"What?" Reno had noticed him staring.

"I-how old are you?" Reno's eyebrow raised at that comment.

"Man I'm same age as you. Like 15-16." He shrugged.

"You don't know your own AGE?"

"Well it ain't that important." Cloud just stared at him. This guy-this boy-was nothing like a Turk that he expected. He had an easy-going manner and didn't seem dangerous at all. "Any more questions, or should we get goin'?"

"Right…" Cloud snuck another look at Reno, who seemed totally disaffected by the trooper's attitude. "Just don't go near that one, he bites anyone that's not me."

* * *

_This was the kid that Hojo was after?_ Reno wondered, after meeting Cloud Strife for the first time. The boy was runt, pure and simple, and even if he didn't seem that bothered by Reno, he sure asked a lot of strange questions.

After earning a bleeding hand from the black chocobo, and another warning from Cloud, the two herded the ornery birds to the field behind the house, where they wouldn't be seen by passerby.

"Man, never liked chocobos, they always thought my hair was food." He sighed dramatically, rolling his head over to look at the little trooper. Okay, little wasn't the right word-they were the same height. Which meant short as sin comparatively. Cloud just shrugged and said nothing.

_Jeez, stiffer then Rude and that's sayin' something._

"Will you stop staring at me?" Cloud asked.

"What makes you think I am?"

"You keep giving me that look." The blonde trooper gave him a frosty glare and started heading back into the house. Yeah, this was definitely an odd one, but nothing about him screamed danger. Or why a big-shot like Hojo was so interested in him.

Now Reno didn't know what to do. He hadn't particularly wanted to pursue the kid and drag him back to Creep-show so he had another lab rat, but he had a bad attitude and it didn't seem worth it to protect some idiot infantry by committing something tantamount to treason.

_Heh. Maybe the kid's just shy or somethin'._

"I have a question for you." He trotted up until he was level with the trooper, who looked at him warily.

"How come you are still alive?"

Cloud stopped suddenly, staring at him. "What do you want?"

Reno smiled slightly. "What, don't trust me 'cause I'm a Turk?"

"Well, not particularly but that's not it. I don't want to talk about it with you," Cloud said curtly.

"Then what is it?"

"You're annoying," he said starkly. Reno deflated. Annoying, was he?

"Well you're a little shit yourself." He waved his hand vaguely again. This  _KID._

"Go away."

"No, I don't want to."

"You're a Turk, act like one!" Cloud suddenly burst out, and Reno smiled in success. It was unnerving for him, wasn't it? Acting like an idiot, wondering what the red-head was planning….

"With pleasure, Cloud Strife," Reno said with a flourishing bow. The trooper looked like he was about to smack him, but instead stormed off, throwing the main door to the manor open and walking inside. Reno's smile faded to a scowl as soon as he was out of range. This kid had nothing going for him except a surprisingly abrasive personality. What the hell was so interesting about him?

* * *

Cloud nearly threw himself into the manor, trying to get away from the annoying red-head. What about him that bothered him so much, he didn't know, but Reno just rubbed him the wrong way. He didn't even seem like a Turk at all, which threw him off wildly. And the fact he was so confident all the time, like he was one step ahead of everyone, and just his...everything. He was so annoying.

And Cloud didn't know what he was planning either. Reno was there, watching every move he made, and while he thought he could trust Tseng, he was starting to wonder about that. After all, this was a Turk, and he could have other loyalties.

Looking around, he couldn't see Zack or Angeal anywhere, so he set off to explore the full manor. He'd never been inside, so he was fascinated as to whether all the stories were really true. The first couple rooms were just extremely dusty bedrooms, with nothing in them but spiders, cobwebs, and a few onion-shaped monsters he chased away.

Across from them was a small stair and alcove, which looked like it had papers lying around. That piqued his curiosity, and he climbed up there and began brushing off the grime.

"Find something cool?" A voice suddenly said behind him and Cloud jumped, swinging his fist around at the source. The red-haired Turk swerved to the side to avoid the blow, saying, "Slow down man, it's just me!"

Cloud narrowed his eyes and just turned back around, hoping Reno would just leave. No such luck though, as the Turk leaned over his shoulder to look at the papers.

"Do you mind?" He said angrily and shifted away from him.

"Seriously, man, what's your problem?" Cloud looked up at Reno and he, weirdly enough, had a serious expression on his face. "I haven't done anything to you yet."

_Yet?_

"Nothing, you're just annoying." The truth was, Cloud didn't even know why he was so annoyed with the Turk. Perhaps he just had that sort of air about him, or maybe he was just secretly frustrated at being stuck outside with the chocobos while the adults did their business. "…and they left me outside after they promised they wouldn't."

Reno was nodding thoughtfully. "Well, we're in the same boat then. The General stuck me outside 'cause he doesn't trust me."

"Can you blame them?"

"Not really, we got that kinda reputation." Reno grinned again. "Doesn't seem to bother you."

"It does, you just won't leave."

"Fine, fine, be that way, but you know, two people searching a really big place, it goes quite a lot faster," he said nonchalantly. "You never know what might come out and..attack."

Cloud considered it for a moment, and then decided to trust Tseng for the time being. "Fine."

Reno clapped his hands, then descended on the papers, all over the alcove. "Let's see what dirty Shinra secrets we can dig up."

A couple minutes of dust later and it turned out they found exactly zero, though Cloud had come upon an interesting paper hinting to combination numbers on a safe, and an experiment in the basement.

"Maybe the ghost stories aren't all fake then," he said, showing the paper to Reno.

"An experiment in the basement? What is it, like a vampire or somethin'? Now that would be freaky." Reno snorted, looking at the second page. "Professor Creep-show sure likes being cryptic."

"Professor what?"

"Professor Creep-show, you know, Hojo?"

Cloud blinked in surprise at Reno's nickname for the crazy scientist. "You get away with calling him that?"

"Ha, like I'd ever actually say that to his face. That man's insane." Reno's lip curled in disgust. "Take it from a Turk; stay away from that dude. He's bad news, yo."

The way he said it made Cloud think there was some sort of hidden meaning behind those words.

"We…should go find the others," he said, folding up the paper and sticking it into his dirty uniform. Reno grumbled but followed him as they started towards the back rooms, where the tracks led.

"Zack? Angeal!" Cloud shouted their names, and he heard a slight 'over here!' from the back room.

Giving a look behind him, the trooper pushed the door open and caught sight of the two first classes, and-

It was him. It was him, it was really him…

A tall figure with long, silver hair. A black coat, and gloves. The slender, deadly six-foot long sword. The General of SOLDIER turned around at Cloud's intrusion and focused his cat-like green eyes on him. Cloud froze in place, unable to move an inch, not even with Reno nudging him to go forward.

"Oh, there you are Cloud. Sorry for leaving you out there, but I figured you'd find your way." Zack greeted him, nonplussed by Sephiroth's-or Cloud's reaction for that matter. Reno finally pushed him hard enough that he stumbled inside, causing him to shoot another death-glare back at the redhead.

"We found our way back alright. This place is really dusty…" the trooper said, his entire gaze focused on his black-haired friend.

"Tell me about it, my allergies are gonna kick in soon…" Zack waved a hand in front of his nose, and then turned back to the General. "So we gonna do this meeting thing or not?"

Cloud flinched when he felt Sephiroth's gaze turn to him and he inwardly chided himself. Here was his childhood idol, the man who embodied everything he ever wanted, the untouchable hero of the Wutai war himself, right within ten feet of him.

"Strife, I presume?" His voice was soft.

Cloud swallowed down his panic and nodded, and just like that, Sephiroth's eyes slid right away from him. Part of his was glad the scrutiny was over, but the other part whispered that the General hated his guts.

Which he was inclined to believe after Sephiroth's next statement. "Leave. We have business to conduct."

Cloud looked up at him, then to Zack and Angeal, who both held similar frustrated expressions on their faces.

"Sephiroth…" Angeal started, but the General held up his hand.

"You and the Turk are more than enough to patrol the mansion and secure it, am I correct?" Sephiroth's gaze rested once again on the trooper, who again froze in place like cornered prey. Luckily Reno came up behind him and answered. "On it, boss. We'll clear this place of monsters in no time."

The Turk grabbed on Cloud's scarf and yanked it, dragging the dazed boy out of the room. The last thing Cloud saw before he was back in the hallway was Zack's apologetic look.

"Hey, get off, get the hell off!" He wrestled with Reno a bit before he finally let go. "What was that for?"

"You were just standing there like a stunned cactuar, what was I supposed to do?" Reno said nastily. "Look, arguin' with the General's gonna get us nowhere. Believe me, I've tried."

"But he just threw us out…" His childhood idol really did hate him.

"Well duh. He kicked me out before. Ironic, 'cause Tseng sent me here to help them…" the red-head shrugged. "Well, gives us free time to dig up stuff on Hojo here."

Cloud stared at him blankly.

"Y'know, the paper? The one about the freaky experiment in the basement?"

"Why are you so keen on digging stuff up on Hojo?" Cloud asked. He sounded like a person to stay away from. The trooper had mentioned his name around Angeal once and the reaction was unsettling to say the least.

"Nothin' much. Just my job as a Turk to know everything, y'know?" Reno tapped the side of his head with a slender finger. "Now hand over the paper."

Cloud briefly considered giving the teenager a rude hand sign and storming back to Zack and the others, but quickly scrapped it. The General would just kick him out again and he'd make things a ton more difficult for his friends anyway. So, the only thing left to do was go along with Reno's plan, which by the vague sound of it, was something they probably weren't supposed to be doing.

"Fine, I've got nothing better to do," he grumbled and pulled out the paper, wondering when he'd ever be able to change out of his muddy uniform. He looked ridiculous. Reno snatched it away from him with glee, apparently proud his plan was coming to fruition. "It's just a bunch of clues for numbers on a safe."

Reno tapped his chin. "Well, have you seen a safe around here?"

He shook his head. "No, but we haven't checked all the rooms yet."

"Then need I spell it out further?" Reno swept his arms dramatically and suddenly took off for the other rooms on the first floor, clomping around loudly. Cloud briefly wondered how someone who snuck up on him so easily could make so much noise before he too joined the dusty scavenger hunt.

It only took one room with a giant piano to get his trooper uniform also covered in muck and cobwebs and him hitting a few off-tune keys to startle a nest of tiny monsters out of the house. Investigating the rest of the piano though, he noticed something odd about the wall right behind it. "Left 10…" he muttered softly, running his fingers over the letters.  _Better tell Reno about that._

He heard some shouting a few seconds later, because apparently Reno had found the actual safe on the second floor. Cloud scrambled up the stairs and ran down the hallway to the left, into the room where the Turk was fastidiously studying a safe mounted on the top of a cabinet.

"Is that it?" Cloud asked.

Reno had his ear pressed up against the safe like he was trying to break into it-which he probably was. "Man Hojo thinks of everything, I can't crack it. Maybe if I was any good at materia…"

"Or you could you know, use the clues on the paper you stole from me," he said, exasperated.

"Oh come on, I didn't steal that from ya!"

Cloud ignored him and snatched it from the floor where the Turk had let it fall. "I think I've already found one of the numbers."

_That_ got his attention. "Yeah?"

"Left 10. The second combination. It was behind the piano." He tapped the paper. "This'll tell us where the rest are hidden."

"I know that, the fourth is Right 97." The red-head smirked and Cloud immediately gave him his best death-glare.

"Well then, why don't you actually do your job, Turk?" He snarled, throwing the paper at his face. Reno kept smiling unfazed, catching it in midair.

It didn't take them very long to find the other two numbers. The one on the top of a chest was easy for Cloud and Reno's keen eyes had spotted the number carved into the floor. Pretty soon, the duo were back in the safe room, ready to find out what exactly this secret of Hojo's was, or at least, what pertained to it in the metal box.

"So…." Both of them stared at the safe. "You wanna open it?"

Cloud merely stared his red-haired 'friend' down. "You're a Turk. Isn't this your job?"

"Touche`…" He grumbled and flexed his fingers, resting them on the knob. "One open safe, comin' up."

Looking back on it, neither of them knew why they were so hesitant to open it up. Cloud could sense there was almost something  _in_ the safe, waiting to leap out and kill them, and as Reno began to spin the dial, counting under his breath, the trooper backed up slowly.

Reno hit the final number and threw open the door, diving aside just in time as a huge monster burst out at their faces.

* * *

"Was that really necessary, Sephiroth?" Angeal said, folding his arms and fixing his friend with a stern glance. Zack stared at the door Reno dragged Cloud out of, partly wanting to go after them, but he figured the boy would be okay, as long as the Turk didn't make anything explode.

"I do not trust the Turk. Or your new friend." The General was unreadable as always, but since Zack had started working with him, he'd like to think he'd gotten way better.

"Please, is that  _any_ way to treat the guy who helped save Angeal's life?" Zack shot out. Sephiroth turned with a questioning glance, and he sighed. "Did Tseng tell you anything?"

"He merely mentioned you and Angeal would be traveling to Nibelheim with a trooper. I wasn't expecting him to come all this way."

"I wasn't either, but he is," Angeal said, softer this time. "Sephiroth, for whatever it's worth, you can trust the boy. The Turk too. He was personally sent by Tseng, who is Zack's friend."

Sephiroth stared for a long moment, and then sighed, leaning back on the wall. Zack could never call the General old-he had one of those timeless faces-but thats exactly what he seemed to be now. Or tired.

"Why did you leave, Angeal?" He asked, staring at the opposite wall.

"You know very well why I did. Shinra…is rotten. And I was a monster. I couldn't let Genesis go off on his own, but I see now I just abandoned you as well. I am sorry." The older man let out a wry smile.

"Was?"

"Yeah, that's right. Was," Zack spoke up, giving a side-long glance to both of them, as if they dared to oppose. A rare smile formed on Sephiroth's lips.

"I see." He stood up straight again. "I don't think I ever thanked you properly, Zack."

The younger first-class figured now would be a rather bad time to mention Angeal had planned for Zack to kill him. "It's okay, I'm glad we all managed to pull through. Highly doubt we can return to Shinra though."

"Well, I cannot at least. I am not angry enough to attack unwarranted, but I have no love for the company. But as I can tell, you and Cloud will be able to," Angeal said, glancing up at his friend. "Don't worry, I will not abandon you again."

Sephiroth ignored the last statement. "Any word about Genesis?"

Zack raised his hand slightly, taking that one. "Well I….fought him in the bowels of the reactor. He looked really sick, Sephiroth and not very stable. And well he…at the end of the fight he fell into the depths of the reactor. I don't know if he survived."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed, and Zack didn't miss the tightening in his fists. "He would survive. I know him."

"Genesis has a way of perpetuating," Angeal finished.

"Sorry. I know you wanted me to bring them both back." Zack hung his head, as Angeal turned on him, questioning.

"What?"

Zack raised his head, startled. "What? I thought I told you! Sephiroth sent me on that mission to bring both of you back!"

Once again, Angeal looked stricken, unable to respond as he glanced back at his friend.

"The puppy speaks the truth. I figured you would be less likely to attack your student, and I was correct," Sephiroth said.

Angeal flinched.

_Someone's gotta tell him what really happened, but that sounds like a bad idea…_

A shudder went through the floor, along with the sound of a distant monster scream.

"What the hell was that?"

* * *

The monster was not happy the two had woke it up, and had it not been for both of their rather quick thinking to dive to the other side of the room, they would've been killed immediately.

"We should go get Zack!" Cloud yelled at his for-right-now partner, but Reno shook his head.

"No time! It'd finish us off as we left!" The Turk already had his baton out, humming with energy. "We gotta do this ourselves."

Cloud hesitated, then gritted his teeth. What the hell was he thinking? Reno was right. He couldn't keep going and running to someone else to fight battles, not if he ever wanted to be SOLDIER. Cloud needed to make a stand, right here, right now.

He was angry at his weakness.  _It's time to take this piece of shit down._

Of course, it would've been nice if he'd made this decision against an easier creature. The monster had two sides to it, one was purple and the other orange, and the trooper was sure that held some significance, but with no Scan materia, they had to attack to find out. Unfortunately, that was as long as the monster was going to wait before an arm came smashing down by the wardrobe they were hiding behind. Reno darted out of reach again, a spell glowing in his hand before descending on the creature, who screamed in pain. Cloud took advantage of this distraction to draw one of his swords and stab down at the orange hand.

The creature stumbled backwards, turning almost full orange, preparing to swipe at them for another attack.

"What did you do to him," Cloud said hurriedly, running out to the open area where Reno was.

"Cast Bio on him, that should weaken him a bit. If I can paralyze him that might make it easier but…we're gonna need your sword…" Reno was taking deep breaths.

"Got that one covered." He gripped it harder then settled himself into a fighting stance, one of the few things Zack had managed to teach him on the trip over. "Let's hope this thing can't use magic."

* * *

After a few moments of listening, the three of them decided it wasn't a big deal.

"You did go tell Reno and Cloud to clear out the monsters, they probably just found a nasty one," Angeal pointed out. "And Zack, I'm sure the two can handle themselves."

"I know, I know, after all he's being taught by the best." Zack grinned, hiding how uneasy he was. Then again, he needed to let go of the kid sometime. He was with a Turk, and Cloud was far more resourceful then Zack suspected he let on.  _They'll be fine. Probably._

"Now that we are no longer distracted, we need to discuss a plan for the future," Sephiroth said, an edge of annoyance to his voice. Noting this, Zack and Angeal nodded, both sitting down at the dilapidated table.

"We know right now that Hollander has been caught by Shinra and being kept in an undisclosed location. Genesis' location is unknown-assuming he is not dead-and nothing out of the ordinary from Hojo." Angeal laid out the basics of their information. "Tseng is helping us, but being the current leader of the Turks, his hands are tied."

"Shinra's priority right now is destroying all evidence of insubordination, as well as any information relating to the failed Project G, as I understand it," Sephiroth said. "That means Genesis, and you."

"What about when we return to Shinra? They're gonna want an explanation for my disappearance." It had been a thing that was worrying Zack for awhile now.

"With Tseng vouching for us, a cover story should not be that hard to fabricate." Sephiroth tapped his fingers against the table. "That is not the real issue here. What we need is information."

"Information that cannot simply be gotten by digging around in remote reactors?" Angeal asked.

Sephiroth's lips started curling into a smile again. "No. This concerns everyone in Shinra. Especially….."

He left off the end of the sentence, but both of them knew who he was talking about. Angeal looked at his with concern, but it was waved away. "I have questions for him, I've just need an…excuse."

"So, me and Seph at least, we go back to Shinra, right? Try to figure out what everyone there is up to. So what are you going to do, Angeal? You can't come back with us," Zack said.

Angeal gripped his fist against the table. "I will search for Genesis. I do not believe he is dead, and I will attempt to find him and return him to his senses."

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Angeal? You're degrading…" Zack was concerned about how much of a toll this was taking on his mentor, who merely sighed at the question.

"Nothing will be accomplished sitting around here. At least this way, there is a chance," he said solemnly.

"With Hojo and Hollander involved in this, we can't be sure of who to trust," Sephiroth pointed out, bringing them back on subject. "I trust Tseng's judgement for the most part, but not this…one he sent us."

"Please, Reno's harmless," Zack said. Both older first classes stared at him.

"Okay, I change my previous statement. He's not harmless, but you can trust him. He is extremely loyal to the Turks from what I know, and barely anyone else."

Angeal smirked. "So just like a normal Turk then."

"It doesn't disregard the fact that they are Shinra's lapdogs." Sephiroth was being stubborn with this one.

"The Turks aren't an enemy we want to have, Sephiroth. They may not be able to do much but we should be thankful some of them are willing to risk it," Angeal stated. Thank Minerva for his mentor being the voice of reason because at least Sephiroth was considering it.

"Fine."

Zack suddenly remembered something else important. "And Cloud is on our side too! We can trust him."

Sephiroth raised a whole eyebrow to that.

"Yeah, yeah, you did that before, but I'm telling the truth. I asked him if he wanted to come along no matter what, and he said yes. Besides, Cloud's gonna be a valuable ally to have as well," Zack said.

"A trooper like him?"

"I'm gonna sponsor him when we get back to Shinra." Even Angeal turned to him in surprise, for Zack hadn't found the time to tell him this. "It's a bit late, but I'm gonna sponsor him to be a SOLDIER."

"Are you sure?" Angeal asked him. "You know was risks that has."

Zack nodded. He'd tossed it around himself, but in the end it was the right decision. Cloud wanted to be a SOLDIER-it was his dream. And who was he to deny that to his friend?

"He saved Angeal's life, and he'll help us out, I'm positive." He nodded, and that argument was over.

There was a long silence from the General before he folded his arms, and nodded, giving in.

"Do what you wish."

After that, the matters were all settled. Their future plan was to collect information and keep Shinra away from Genesis-and vice-versa-while figuring out who the real enemy was here.  _Battles were easier fought when the hero knew who to fight._

But for now, all they could do was settle down, and attempt to figure out the secrets of the Shinra Manor.

* * *

It turned out the creature they were fighting  _could_  use magic, and Reno found that out the hard way after he got a blizzard spell almost right to the chest. Cloud didn't have much chance to look, but he appeared to be fine, just sitting out on the edge of the battle.

_If you're okay, then get in here and help me, you piece of shit!_ He thought silently, vowing to skin the teenager alive once he figured out how to beat this thing. For this orange form, Cloud had tried lobbing some fire at it from his materia, but it just diffused and scattered. Remembering his sword did damage earlier, and sidestepping another thunder spell-they were easy to predict from something this large-he started to get an idea of the beast's strategy.  _Orange means resistance to magic. And I'll bet my left leg its purple side is resistant to physical._

The beast backed up suddenly as he charged head on with his sword, trying to get more range. Cloud was too fast for him though, and he slashed at the weird tentacle things before the thing could swipe him away with its one arm. The creature screeched and flailed, and seeing no other option, Cloud grabbed onto one of the appendages and held on for dear life. This just made the monster angrier and cast off some fire spells at random, which Cloud was hoping wouldn't do that much damage. He had to make it switch forms, and soon-the magic was far more dangerous then its physical attacks.

Cloud brought his right sword around again and kept slashing the appendages, swinging around to miss the clawing hand.

Like he intended, this made the creature mad enough that it backed up and charged at the wall, intending to smash him off.  _Good, now I just have to time this okay…_ The adrenalin in his system didn't allow for any second-guessing as the wall grew maddeningly closer. He waited, every nerve in his body screaming at him to jump, until the monster was just a few seconds away. The monster crashed into the wall, but Cloud had flipped up and over at the last second, landing him almost squarely on its head.

The creature shrieked again, but the impact stunned it, and the trooper was done giving it any chances. He'd slipped a bit after the landing, so he was almost next to the wall, giving him an opportunity.

_It's over for this one with the next attack._ This needed to be with one blow-Bio had already taken its toll, as well as Cloud's other attacks, so one solid stab would finish off this form. Grip renewed on his sword, and as the monster peeled away, he slid down, planted his feet firmly on the wall, and before he could fall to the ground, jumped sword-first.

His blade sank deep into the orange form's 'chest', causing it to scream in pain and knocked Cloud to the floor. He hit it hard, his teeth vibrating, but got himself up again, knowing this battle wasn't over. Already the orange form was fading into dust, his sword clattering to the ground, but there was no time to go get it; nor would it be of any use anyway.

The purple form had completely manifested and Cloud was quickly running out of stamina. Already he was breathing hard and sweat was running into his face. Cloud wasn't sure how much energy he could put into his materia at this point, but he had to try.

"You gonna just sit there?!" He yelled, drawing out the other sword. The purple form's eye fixed itself on him and a large meaty hand suddenly rushed at him.

"Shit." He dived out of the way, nearly crashing into a flaming piece of lumber. He was wrong. The physical form was more dangerous. Cloud only got off a low level Fire before the beast swung at him again, this time clipping him on the shoulder and forcing him to the ground again.

_At least it was my left side…_ He backed up as far as he could in the rather cramped room, attempting to get range. This form needed the exact opposite strategy as the orange one.  _One big move. I just need a big spell._

The green glow of the Bio spell meant Reno's poison was still active, but that just weakened him slightly. Cloud needed a distraction that would allow him time to cast, and since physical attacks didn't work…..

A final rush of energy was enough to get him to dodge the next attack, the fist slamming into the wall and cracking the plaster and woodwork. He was unsure if this was going to work, but Cloud could feel the way the materia sung to him, so he was almost certain he could get it to do what he wanted.

"Come on, don't let me down…" he whispered as he ran the fingers of his right hand down the blade of his sword, filling it with flames. As he got to the end, the entire metal shined with a white-hot glow, and was wreathed in fire.

"EAT THIS!" Cloud yelled at the monster, and threw the sword. It spun across the room like a lopsided comet, and with his fingers crossed, hit almost exactly the center of its eye. The creature shrieked, backing up and desperately clawing at the offending object, but the trooper wasted no more time. Cloud brought the materia on his right wrist to his chest, charging it up with all the energy he could muster. It glowed brightly and he could feel the heat through his glove but he didn't stop. As soon as he felt himself hit the limit, Cloud raised his hands above his head and unleashed hell.

A giant wave of flame erupted from his hands, shooting at the monster, while small fireballs bounced around and disappeared. It separated into three chunks, all of which slammed into the creatures body, engulfing it in flames, and incinerating it into dust. He felt something on his arm break, but didn't bother to check until the smoke and fire cleared and he saw the monster was no more. His materia had broken-he'd cast a spell so powerful, it shattered the green stone.

_I….I did it. I killed the thing….all by myself…._ Cloud stared down at his fists which were now shaking with exertion. He really had done it. That monster was dead because of him. Looking back on the last few minutes, he couldn't even believe it had done all those things, and if it hadn't been for the destroyed room, Cloud would think he'd imagined it all.

But the monster was gone, and his swords were lying on the floor, and his materia was still shattered. The nerves of what he'd actually done had caught up to him and his legs collapsed from under him, causing him to sit down really hard and gulp in big breaths.

A lone clapping sound alerted him to the presence of Reno, whom he'd completely forgotten about. Turning, Cloud was about to give him a piece of his mind, but stopped short when he saw the utterly shocked look on the Turk's face.

"Holy SHIT, Cloud, where the hell did that come from?" He asked wildly.

"You could've helped you know," the trooper spat out.

"Yeah, I know. But I wanted to see what the great Cloud Strife was made of. Turns out, a lot more impressive then anyone said. Man, I didn't know you could get out a Firaga." Reno seemed to be genuinely impressed, but all Cloud felt was tired.

"You're a piece of crap, you know that?" Cloud tried to sound annoyed, but it fell far short of his mark, as Reno started to smile. His grin was infectious and soon Cloud started laughing. "I really did all of that, didn't I?"

"I dunno why SOLDIER hasn't picked you up yet, but man, with skills like that, you could come an' be a Turk with me," Reno said, pulling Cloud up from the floor. The statement still unexpectedly stung, and he winced when the red-head wasn't looking.

_Right, SOLDIER…._ But Zack had promised to help with that, so Cloud stopped himself from getting depressed. After all, he'd just killed a large and extremely angry monster.

"So, why don't we go check out what was so important that Hojo needed to put THAT inside." Reno rubbed his hands gleefully, looking over at the safe, and Cloud had no objections.

* * *

Deep in the ground, Chaos began to wake.

 


	8. Skeletons in the Basement

"The shuddering stopped." Zack looked up. The room had been shaking slightly until there was the sound of what seemed to be a small explosion. "What's going on?"

He got up and stuck his head out of the door, but nothing seemed that different from before. He didn't hear anyone calling for help, and as much as he wanted to run out and see what they were up to, he knew he owed it to Sephiroth to stick around just a little longer.

He shrugged, turning back to the two. "I guess they're doing okay."

"I hear Lazard deserted," Angeal said, changing the subject.

"Yes…that seems to be the case. He apparently was funding Hollander. For what reason, I do not know," Sephiroth answered. Zack's attention was split-curious as to what was going on in the mansion and also wanting to participate in their discussion. It was getting hard to focus.

"He seemed okay when we were off on…."Zack looked sideways at his mentor. He was talking about the same mission that Angeal deserted on. "I don't know what happened."

This entire case was frustrating. They had already established they knew nothing and needed to find out more, but higher powers were involved, and everyone appeared to be the enemy. Zack's only goal right now was to keep his friends safe, and that included Sephiroth, Angeal, AND Cloud. He swore that on his life.

Sephiroth shook his head. "This entire situation is fishy. Lazard certainly does not seem to be that type of man, but want for power does strange things to a person."

"Shinra is not a healthy workplace, you mean?" Angeal asked. "What about Veld? I've heard rumors about the Turk leader."

"So have I, but I do not know anything definite," Sephiroth said. "We could always ask Reno, but I doubt we would get a straight answer."

_You know how Turks are,_ his eyes seemed to say.

"Look, if we keep talking about this, we'll just go around in circles and get nowhere." This time, Zack tried to be a voice of reason. "We've already established we need more information, but for now we can't do anything. Why not just figure out whats happening now?"

The two SOLDIERS looked at him quizzically.

"Y'know, like why Hojo wants Sephiroth to come to a run-down place like this?" He gestured his hand wildly at the broken-down building. Zack had just realized the oddity of this himself and right now, it seemed more of a pressing issue then what Shinra may or may not be doing.

Sephiroth looked shocked too-as if the sudden arrival of his friend had caused him to forget as well.  _How unlike you, Seph._

"That is a very good question," The General muttered.

* * *

Cloud half expected something else to leap out at them when Reno swung the door open, but nothing happened. Inside was a key and a small red materia, indicating a summon. The rest was empty. Reno looked disappointed, but took them both anyway, examining the summon for a minute before tossing it to Cloud.

"I suck with summons so you can have it. You earned it anyway," he said absentmindedly, more interested in the key. Cloud looked at him funny, but accepted the stone anyway. It wasn't every day a trooper like him came across a powerful summon materia-those things were usually reserved for higher ranking officers or a very lucky mercenary, they were so rare.

Cloud rolled it around in his palm a bit. He had enough sense to know not to activate it-besides, with the trick he just pulled off, he highly doubted he could. The complete lack of magical power he could explain by running out of energy, but his right arm he used to cast felt odd, and the spot where he equipped the materia was numb.

That was a problem for another time. I didn't seem to affect anything so Cloud ignored it and focused on the summon again.  _Which one are you?_

_Odin._ A voice seemed to answer, and he jumped slightly. Right. These materia contained fragments of spirits, why wouldn't they talk back?

"Man, I have no idea what this thing goes to," Reno said, breaking Cloud out of his focus. "I ain't seen a locked room in this whole place!"

"Have you really checked every single room?" The trooper retorted.

"You doubtin' me, Slick?"

"Yes."

"Sorry, I don't take advice from nobodies." Reno stuck his tongue out at him, and Cloud chucked the materia at the Turk, realizing too late that that was a bad idea. Reno's hand snatched it out of the air, just enraging Cloud further.

"Give that back!" Reno danced out of Cloud's desperate reach.

"Make me!" The Turk suddenly turned around and dashed off out of the room. Barely sparing a glance behind-Cloud hoped Hojo had actually fireproofed the room-he broke out into a run, yelling, "RENO, YOU JERK! GET BACK HERE!"

The Turk was fast, but so was Cloud, even after his fight with the monster. Plus he had the element of unbridled rage on his side, and as Reno ran across the hallway and weaved around the rooms on the other side, the trooper hopped up on a table and tackled him.

Or more accurately, tackled his feet, since Reno was still way too quick. He fell loudly to the floor, the materia flying out of his hand and hitting the opposite stone wall with a solid thunk.

"Geddoff-you-"Reno struggled to push the trooper off of him, until he finally kneed Cloud in the gut and quickly stood up. Cloud came up too, ready to swing, but Reno was staring at the wall he nearly face-planted into. "Did that sound hollow to you?"

Not one to give up that easily, Cloud stamped down on Reno's foot, causing him to yelp in pain. "That was for calling me a nobody."

"Not fair, yo!" Reno hissed. Cloud merely turned around and mimicked the Turk by sticking out his tongue at him. Inwardly laughing at Reno's murderous expression, he picked up the summon materia, this time stuffing it in his pocket, and examined the wall. Now that he looked at it, it did seem rather out of place: a large stretch of the stone was uncovered. Reno reached around him and knocked his fist against the wall, the sound echoing back as if something were behind it. "Yep. Hollow."

"You know, I'm not surprised this manor has secret passages," Cloud said.  _Damn, I should've thought of that._

"Move it, spiky, let me check it." Reno shoved the trooper out of the way and began to run his fingers all over the cracks, checking for a trigger.

"Don't call me spiky!" He grumbled, letting Reno do his job. He  _was_ better at finding hidden things like these-it was probably written in his job description somewhere.

Not five minutes later, Reno's clever fingers found what seemed to be the switch and an entire section of the wall shuddered, slowly pulling open. Both of them leaped back, at the ready, afraid of what hideous monster was going to leap at them next. But, nothing happened, and the wall just slowly thudded open, the entrance shrouded in a lank darkness.

Reno took a few steps forward, peering down into the the dusty abyss. "I think we found the basement."

"This manor has a basement?"

"Yeah, didn't you know? Or is that like classified info or somethin'?" Reno grinned at him from under his arm.

"I've never been inside, and I'm not privileged to information like a Turk," Cloud said, holding back the very real urge to call Reno a moron. He only vaguely recalled the sewer system connecting to something underground but hell and to him  _that_ had even sounded like a legend.

Reno waved him off and looked back inside. "Think the key unlocks something down here?"

"Probably. But I'm not going down there without my sword." With what they'd already found in this mansion, Cloud wasn't surprised if all the worst monsters were hidden in the basement. Besides, that's how it always worked in horror movies.

One sword and equipped summon materia later-though his arm was still feeling numb-and the duo were ready to head into the basement. After the fight with the safe creature, Cloud was feeling a lot more confident in his abilities but he was still exhausted from that last fight, and he noticed Reno had pulled out a gun.

"How long have you had that with you?" Cloud asked incredulously.

"What're you talkin' about? It's like a Turk trademark to have hidden weapons. Man, you don't even know  _half_ of what I'm packin'," Reno said flippantly. "'sides, I don't use this much. I'm a terrible shot."

The trooper wondered if that last statement was really true-Reno had said the same thing about materia, and while Cloud never saw him in action, he knew the Turk had at least three or four equipped.

He still made a vow not to stand in front of the red-head in case he was telling the truth.

"Whatever, lets go." He readied his sword.

"What, no running back to your SOLDIER friends?"

"Do you want me to tell them?" Cloud asked in a dangerous tone.

"Nah. You're stickin' up for yourself. I like." Leaving the trooper confused, Reno bounded into the newly-discovered entrance and disappeared.

* * *

"My mission here is to investigate oddities in the Shinra Manor and the reactor, as I understand it." The report did not specifically say that, but that was how the General interpreted it and didn't care to think on it further. His stomach turned at the thought of doing any favors for the despicable Hojo, however his dear friend depended upon his visit…

And what a visit, for though he showed nothing through his careful eyes, Sephiroth was glad to see Angeal once again in relative safety. Ever since he heard both him and Genesis had taken off without him- _how could they-_ Sephiroth had been winding himself up into what he would call a panic, if he were a lesser man. Zack was a boon-not only was he a resourceful friend, but was willing to help bring them back to him, even when- _yes I will admit it-_ too fearful to do himself.

"Specifically, there is a secret passage hidden on the second floor that leads to the basement. There is also a sewer system but it is mostly inoperable," he said calmly.

"Hidden room, I expected as much." Angeal looked to be pondering something.

"I wonder what creepy stuff's down there. I mean, all the locals have stories of this place and I'm starting to see why." His puppy, not so much.

_I am being too harsh, he is more then that._

"It is most likely related to Hojo's research." He was  _not_ looking forward to this at all. "As for the reactor, there have been disturbances in the machinery, apparently by the main core. We are to investigate exactly what."

"You mean you are," Zack said. "Sephiroth, there is something fishy with this whole thing."

"I agree,"Angeal added on. "Why would the General of SOLDIER need to come inspect a reactor at such a remote place?"

"Maybe we should've asked Cloud if there was anything special about this one…" Zack was thinking, and Sephiroth turned to him, curious. Sensing his gaze, Zack amended hastily, "Cloud, the blond-haired kid? He's a Nibelheim native. He would know about the area."

Sephiroth ignored the pointed you-should-not-have-kicked-him-out look in favor of further discussion. "Perhaps we can ask him later. I am not keen on following Hojo's orders; however, we need to make it look as though I came here to do my job, especially with the two regulars assigned to me."

"Are they stationed in Nibelheim?" Angeal asked.

He nodded. "They are to keep locals away from the mansion as well as ask around about any unusual activity. We cannot forget about them."

"I say we regroup then,  _all of us,_ and attempt our mission later after briefing everyone. I dunno about you but I've been riding on a chocobo all day," Zack said.

_Hmm. The puppy is growing up as well. I approve._

But that meant the Turk and the trooper as well. Sephiroth knew he was being childish and paranoid, but unpredictable factors threatened his sense of safety. The trooper alone did not seem much of a threat-in fact, he appeared rather scared of the General, but Turks he did not trust as far as he could throw one. While Tseng was easier to get along with then most Shinra personnel, Sephiroth knew the purpose of the Turks was to do whatever the president (and his son) said, without question. He gritted his teeth slightly when he realized he would have to trust Zack on this.

_Did he give you reason to doubt him before? No. I will attempt to be civil._

But that didn't mean he was going to make it easy for them.

* * *

"Oww, my head…"

"Oh shut up, you're barely even bleeding." Cloud squinted in the dim light, but he was right. There was a cut across the red-head's forehead, but only a little blood trickled out.

"I can still complain, can't I? This is all your fault, chocobo-head!" Reno growled at him and then shuffled upwards again.

"It was three steps. Stop being melodramatic." Okay, so it was Cloud's fault. The wooden spiral stairs were rickety and some of them were missing, but they had almost made it to the bottom in one piece, had it not been for Cloud's boot snagging on a protruding nail. He wouldn't have even fallen down completely, had he not knocked into Reno who dragged them both down. Or something. Now his arms were full of splinters.

The only consolation prize from this was that the Turk looked like he'd been dragged through a dusty wood-filled sewer too.

"Clumsy ass…" Reno muttered, staring down the hallway. "Man, be glad this isn't like slum water, or you'd probably have like the flu or somethin'."

_I'll give you the flu,_ he thought angrily, which in hindsight, made absolutely no sense. "Can we just go find what this key is for and wake up some ancient demon or whatever?"

"Whatever you say, Cloudy." Reno took off in a strut down the dank, dark hallway. Cloud quickly caught up to him, not wanting to be left alone. The little tumble must have dulled his senses, because he certainly wasn't expecting a two-headed creepy zombie thing to jump out at him.

He would never admit it later, but Cloud screamed loudly and under reflex, punched the monster directly in the face. They-or Reno mostly, in this case-killed the thing a few seconds later, though the Turk was almost laughing too hard to deal with it properly.

Cloud yanked on his hair and reminded him he was an idiot.

They continued on like this after a little bit, this far more aware of their environment. The tunnel curved around a bit before ending up at a doorway that looked like it lead to some sort of library with a lab attached.

"Well this is certainly interesting…"Reno said, leaning slightly in. He raised his gun-which he managed to pick up again-and quickly scanned the room for traps or enemies. Cloud just stayed behind his line of fire, drawing out his one sword and getting on the other side of the door. His eyes swept over the right side of the room; it was full of weird machinery, a couple of what looked like mako pods on the wall and an extremely foreboding solid metal table in the middle. That had suspicious looking marks on it.

Both of them nodded, and then quickly entered, covering each other against any attack.

Except it was silent, and nothing stirred except for a stray piece of paper under Reno's shoe. They both lowered their weapons, almost disappointed.

"Well other then the creepy-as-hell mad scientist lab over there, there doesn't seem to be anything in here to unlock." Cloud spoke up first. There wasn't even a safe-it was just a shelves and computers and that was it.

"That's disappointing," Reno said, putting away his gun, but keeping his EMR at the ready. Now that they knew nothing was going to suddenly leap out at them…

Cloud looked around again, staying away from the chilling laboratory section. "This place is so well hidden, there could be another hidden door somewhere."

The trooper held Reno's gaze for a minute before they both spoke in unison. "The hallway."

As it turned out, they were right. Just as they left the library, the pair came upon a solid-looking door on the right, locked tightly with an intimidating padlock.

"I'll bet you 50 gil this is where our mystery key goes," Reno said gleefully, his eyes lighting up. Cloud couldn't help but do the same-this was a great mystery that piqued his curiosity. As always, he let Reno open the door-mostly because the red-head refused to give up the key. After waiting a few moments, the lock thudded to the floor and Cloud shoved the door open, weapon at ready.

A puff of dust was the only thing that flew at them, and after the trooper stopped coughing and his vision cleared, he was struck by the odd interior.

This mystery room was much smaller and there was less inside of it. His eyes were drawn to the three large, old coffins that took up most of the floor space. Cloud swallowed, disgusted.  _This is a crypt…_

"Holy…." Whatever Reno was expecting to find, it certain wasn't this. The coffins loomed up, filling Cloud's vision, and he started getting the same weird sense in his brain, like something living was creeping around in there.

He took a few tentative steps forward, swearing he could almost hear a soft whisper on the dust-laden air. Cloud sensed movement as Reno followed him, though his partner made no distinguishable noise.

"What d'ya suppose is in there…?" The Turk whispered, as if afraid to wake whatever was sleeping in the crypt.

The trooper's stomach twisted again as he thought of all the different possibilities. "Whatever it is, I really hope its nothing Hojo made."  _Or if it is, something that's already dead._

The two stood in silence for a little while longer, the dark coffin eating away at their psyche. Cloud had a desperate urge to throw the lid off at once, but if this were an extra lab of Hojo's, something worse then the safe monster might come popping out. And that didn't explain the sense of wrongness, the same hovering around the reactor and the red-coated man.

No, wrong didn't describe it. This was something different, something older and far wilder. A deep power, pulsing almost in tune to the Planet itself-

**Do not be afraid.**

Cloud jumped, staring up at Reno. Where had that voice come from? Certainly not Reno, who hadn't moved from his spot by the coffin. By the looks of it, he hadn't heard it either, from the way he was staring. Cloud just shrugged and stared back at the coffin. That left only one possibility.

"Wouldn't it be funny if Hojo kept dead bodies in there?" Reno grinned, earning a nervous glare.

"Help me with this will you?" He asked, gripping his fingers on the edge of the lid and trying to lift. Reno needed no other prompting and soon the two were raising it inch by inch until the entire thing tipped over the left side and clattered onto the floor.

Cloud gasped and Reno let out a "Holy Shit!" at the contents of the coffin. Reno had been right-lying peacefully inside was a perfectly preserved body.

* * *

"What the fresh hell happened in here?" Zack exclaimed when they came upon a room that Cloud and Reno had apparently been in. No, been in wasn't the right word.  _Completely destroyed_ was more along the lines of what happened. Pieces of discarded lumber and twisted furniture were everywhere, small fires flickering along the floor and walls, and the only thing moving was the forlorn swinging of a door on an empty safe.

"Well, now we know what the source of the shaking was," Sephiroth said, stepping over the destruction gracefully.

_Is he amused by all this?_

"Yeah but what attacked them to make a mess like this? This is not a normal monster!" Zack said loudly. And was that-he rushed over to where Sephiroth was, but the General had already beaten him to it. In his hand was a smaller sword, except the blade had been partly melted and folded back in on itself.

"That's one of the swords I gave Cloud!" He said, staring in shock. How on earth did the sword get in that state? This kid might have shown some skill with it, but there was no way he could bend the blade that much, unless it was the monster's doing.

"I presume by the lack of another sword, he still has the other one and the Turk is with him?" Angeal proposed.

"I would assume so." Sephiroth smirked at Zack, handing him the sword. "I'm impressed they could create this much carnage." The first-class just stared numbly after him.

Zack wasn't sure whether he should feel impressed or worried.

* * *

Both of them froze in place for a few seconds, but the body didn't seem to be moving. Glancing at each other, Cloud and Reno crept forward to inspect their find. The body-the man-had long black hair and skin that looked like it had been drained of all blood. His clothes were even more curious-most of it was black, except for the red tattered cape and headband, and the shining gold gauntlet that covered the man's left arm. It matched quite well with his boots, which were also golden and looked like they could put someones eye out.

"Is that a vampire, yo?" Reno whispered in Cloud's ear. Normally the trooper would just tell the red-head off for being stupid but he honestly wasn't sure at this point. It certainly didn't look alive so he tentatively reached out a hand….

The glowing red eyes opened.

Cloud jumped backwards and Reno's EMR hummed into existence. Neither of them moved as the body slowly sat up and turned towards them, fixing his glare upon the two.

"Why have you disturbed me?" He spoke with a voice so rusty it sounded like it hadn't been used in years.

Luckily Reno was quicker to the punch. "Disturbed you? We didn't know anything living was down here, yo!"

The strange dead man fixed his gaze upon the red-head, speaking a single word. "Turk?"

"Yeah, and what's it to ya?" His voice betrayed none of the nervousness the Turk seemed to be feeling.

The man didn't answer but merely turned his head to Cloud, who had his sword at the ready. "I'm with him," he answered the silent question curtly.

Cloud was ready to break and run at any moment. He'd had enough of Hojo's twisted monsters and the talking corpse was the last straw. Reno, at least, seemed to have the same idea. The man clearly wasn't forthcoming any information-or moving at all-but the two weren't budging either.

All of a sudden, in a flash of red, the man was in the air, flipping around until he slowly landed on his feet at the edge of the coffin, his cape flowing around him. Cloud's eyes widened. He hadn't even seen the man  _move._

The red eyes opened again, and glared straight through Cloud's soul. "What is your business here?"

It was only then that he noticed the literal hand-cannon strapped to his leg and the deadly gleam in the pale man's eyes. "Vampire…" Reno said softly, then made a break for it at the same time Cloud did. Something told him that no matter how well he'd done against the safe monster, this man was on a whole different level and challenging him was asking for death penalty.

"Are we going to tell Sephiroth about  _THIS?"_  Cloud shouted wildly as they ran down the stone passageway to the rickety stairs.

"Be my guest, man!" Reno answered, glancing quickly behind them. Cloud saw another flash of red in his vision and suddenly the strange man was  _there, straight in front of them,_ and both of them skidded to a stop.

The red-cloaked man merely stood there, the gauntlet flickering silently in the dim lighting from the staircase. "Unusual for a Turk to run away."

Perhaps he shouldn't have said that, because out of nowhere, Reno suddenly swung his EMR around, lashing out at the dark figure. Against a normal opponent, the attack would've easily hit, for Reno was fast as lightning, but there was nothing normal about this man. The gauntlet flashed up, catching the rod in between its fingers, small traces of electricity flickering down it like it was nothing. Reno growled, frustrated.

"More like I know when to fight my battles," he said, attempting to jerk it away. The man's grip was too strong, and Cloud briefly considered striking at him until he made his next statement.

"Did you say Sephiroth?"

Cloud stopped in his tracks, shocked. What was going on? Reno hadn't let up his tug-of-war, but he too seemed confused.

"Yes?" Cloud said, glancing over at his partner.

"He is here?" The pale man asked again, a strange curiosity lighting up in his eyes.

"He's our commanding officer on this mission, so let-" Reno pulled his EMR away from the man-"go."

The mysterious figure seemed not to notice, lost in whatever his own thoughts were. Cloud stood there awkwardly, not sure whether to attack, for the man no longer seemed a threat.

"How…old is he?" The man leveled his stare at Reno.

"Like in his 20s? Why the hell do you care?" The Turk said, exasperated.

"20 years…." The strangers voice faded away into silence, hiding a deep tinge of sadness. "I have slept for 20 years…"

Cloud cocked his head, lowering his sword all the way. "Are you saying you were trapped down in that room for over 20 years?"

The glowing red gaze fixed on him, but made no other reaction. Reno however, whistled. "I'm impressed. You don't look a day  _over_ 20\. "

The strange man ignored him. Cloud tried a different tactic, for it seemed as though the man only talked to them when Sephiroth was mentioned.

"Do you know the General?" The trooper asked, but the man seemed not to hear him at all, only whispering under his breath. Reno glanced over at him, giving him a look like,  _who is this freak?_

Cloud didn't know, but after the initial scare of finding a body in a coffin, the man no longer seemed dangerous-at least to them. In the dim light, Cloud could barely see him and he moved more silently and fluidly then any Turk he'd met.

And there was that mysterious voice and connection. The man was like Angeal almost, with a strange sense of another presence hanging over him, but not as horrible and stomach-twisting. Rather, it felt like materia. Like a part of the planet, and Cloud was sure the other man felt it as well.

He was desperate to ask but knew he would get no answers.

"Take me to him," the man said suddenly, startling Cloud from his thoughts.

"I'll think about it after you tell me who you are," Reno replied, his EMR resting on his shoulders. He didn't seem to trust the man, and Cloud could see why, but Reno could also not sense what he did. Then again, the gun in the sheath looked massive, and the trooper wondered if his sixth sense was really the best thing to listen to.

Perhaps if the stranger had been more expressive he would've rolled his eyes, but his mouth barely moved as he spoke. "Vincent Valentine."

Cloud did not recognize that name, but Reno obviously did from the way his eyes widened.

"Yeah, I can. He's upstairs. Follow us." The Turks voice sounded like he was being strangled, and Cloud shot him a questioning glance about the sudden change-of-heart. Reno just waved it off. "I'll tell you later."

Cloud stared at the strange man-Valentine-as he slowly walked past him and up to the stairwell. Who exactly was he?

* * *

No one spoke as Cloud led them up to the mansion proper. It was a very weird trip, basically like being followed by two shadows that made absolutely no noise. Every creak under his boot and shift of the fabric on his uniform was horribly noticeable, and even his breath sounded deafening to his ears, so he unconsciously tried to copy the way the Turks walked.

The room they came out in was just as empty as ever, as was the hallway. "Think the others discovered our battlefield?" Reno asked, peering out into it.

"Don't look at me. I don't know what they're up to." But at least Cloud now had an excuse to go disturb their super secret meeting. He glanced behind him to see if Valentine was still there-he was, and  _man_ that was creepy-before walking down the hallway.

"Zack! Angeal!" Cloud called out their names, figuring they'd be the ones to answer. He was right; there was a scuffle on the opposite end and his friend emerged.

"Cloud! There you are, I was worried!" Zack said, rushing over to him. "What the hell happened to you?"

Cloud presumed he meant his tattered uniform and scraped up face. "Well uh…we fought something. And then found a secret passage and fell down it." He left off the part about finding a dead man in the basement, seeing how that was best explained by seeing.

"Man, it looked like something tore apart that room. And a secret passage?" Zack stared at him quizzically. Cloud waved him off, a bit too distracted to explain. It would be easier to after the whole debacle with Vincent Valentine was settled.

"That isn't all that happened in the basement." Cloud was cut off by both Angeal and Sephiroth coming out of the same room. His heart skipped a beat as his gaze lingered on the General's face, but he was relieved as well. "Sephiroth! I mean...General!"

The General stared at him in surprise. "Yes?"

He stared back at the hallway, where Reno was emerging, looking around. "Man, Cloud, did you see him go past you? I turn away for one second and he disappeared!"

"What? No..." Cloud shook his head.

"Who is this you're talking about?" Angeal asked curtly.

"I've been trying to tell you! We found someone-"

There was a rush of air and suddenly Vincent Valentine was standing there, on the edge of the balcony. Now that he was in full sunlight, the strangely-dressed man cut an even more impressive figure-he seemed as tall as Sephiroth, and even paler, his eyes and armor gleaming softly. The cape seemed to have a life of its own, fluttering and twisting around him, despite there being no breeze to even lift a hair.

Zack swore, and the rest of the group drew their weapons. Cloud barely saw the swift movements and the singing of Masamune as it left its sheath but he reacted immediately, running in front of Valentine. The blade hummed to a stop barely a centimeter from his face and that was all he could focus on.

"Explain, Strife." Sephiroth said in a deadly voice. Cloud didn't respond until the sword was moved more away from his face, then spoke up.

"Like I was trying to say before,  _sir,_ Reno and I were exploring the mansion like you requested us and came upon a secret passage, which led to an unidentified crypt. Inside one of the coffins was this man, and he requested to see you," Cloud said, all in one go.

The sword lowered slightly but did not go down. The trooper shot a glance back at Valentine, like  _you could say something, you know,_ but the man was fixated upon Sephiroth.

"Why should I trust this man?" Sephiroth asked again.

"Because," Reno drawled, coming up from behind them, "That's Vincent Valentine, a retired Turk and former partner of Veld."

Cloud stared at him and the red-head had the nerve to smile right back at him. Sephiroth's eyes flicked from Reno back to Valentine, who was still frozen.

"Is this true?" he asked of the dark-haired man.

"You look so much like her…" Valentine suddenly spoke, ignoring the question, his voice much softer then when he'd talked before.

Cloud had never seen the great General dumbfounded, but now that was the only way to describe the expression on his face.

"What?"

"Your mother…" Valentine studied Sephiroth, his eyes not missing a single detail. "You look like Lucrecia."

The sword dropped away completely. "My mother is Jenova."

_That_ name definitely triggered something in him, for his expression immediately darkened, and Cloud quickly stepped away from the former Turk, beginning to fear for his safety.

"Jenova? That monster? The Calamity could never be someone's  _mother."_ The last line was almost spoken as if Valentine himself were not talking, but rather something inside of him.

Sephiroth and Vincent Valentine stood off against each other, neither speaking and moving from their respective spots, as if attempting to mentally break the other down. The lines on their faces were even eerily similar, and Cloud couldn't breathe, for fear of setting one of them off.

Eventually, it was Valentine who stood down first, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I have much to tell you, Sephiroth, about your origins. You need-no, you deserve to know. You deserve to know the curse Hojo has wrought upon us all."

At Hojo's name, the rest of the group-except for Reno, who had a growing look of horror on his face-started.

"I should have known that bastard would be involved in this," Angeal growled, and Zack looked of similar sentiment. Valentine shot a strange glance at them, but still focused on Sephiroth.

"I wish to hear this as well," Angeal said. The strange Turk looked almost annoyed by this fact, but otherwise made no move to stop him from staying.

The two older SOLDIERS stared pointedly at Zack and Cloud. "Really? Okay, okay, I can tell when we're not wanted," the black-haired SOLDIER grumbled.

Cloud started to protest- _they could ask for us to stay!_  - since he was being kicked out  _again_ , when Zack whispered in his ear. " _Look, we can eavesdrop and I'll tell you what I know, but play along for now."_

Cloud still wasn't happy, but he let Zack start dragging him out of the room under the guise of finding something less torn apart for him to wear. As they were leaving, and Sephiroth started talking softly to Angeal, Cloud held up a hand to wait.

"Reno," he asked, concerned, "Are you okay?"

The teenager had a stricken look on his face ever since Valentine himself had mention Hojo. Paler and less composed then usual, Reno actually seemed on the verge of panic.

"Hojo…it can't be…that means…" Cloud could only catch small bits of what he was muttering.

"Reno!"

The Turk jumped, his eyes flashing to the trooper.

"What the hell is wrong?" Cloud asking seemed to only aggravate the situation, as Reno backed up, and gripped his EMR tight.

"Leave me the fuck alone!" He shouted and suddenly dashed out onto the balcony, jumping down in a smooth move and continuing until he-presumably-left the house.

"What's gotten into him?" Cloud asked, worried now, but with Zack dragging him, the only thing he saw before leaving the area was Vincent's cold gaze.

* * *

One of the bedrooms had a closet full of spare uniforms, thankfully, because his was covered in mud and things he didn't want to know about. Zack rummaged around in them, humming, looking for one that fit.

"Hey, if we do this quickly, we can figure out what they're saying," Zack said, flipping his head back to look at his friend.

"Do  _you_ know who Vincent Valentine is?" Cloud asked him, curious to Reno's reaction. He'd never heard of the man; then again, Turks were extremely secretive.

"Nope. Tseng and Cissnei never mentioned anyone like him, but your friend's reaction says there's more to his story." Zack finished his task, pulling out something that looked small enough for Cloud. "Here you go!"

Cloud stared at the uniform. It was the right size, but…"Zack, that's a SOLDIER First uniform. I can't wear that."

His friend looked confused at first, then chuckled. "Cloud, its fine. It's not like you're impersonating an officer or anything. You can just say you made due with the supplies you have."

Cloud still wasn't sure about it. Shinra was notoriously difficult about rules. Besides, his uniform wasn't that bad, right? They were only going to be staying here for maybe another day or two….

"Cloud, just take it. If they try to get you in trouble, I'll head them off. Seph will too, once I uh, convince him." Cloud raised an eyebrow, doubting Zack's ability to do that, but halfheartedly took it anyway. He really didn't want to be covered in mud anymore, which is something he had worse than Reno, at the very least.

"Also, the quicker we do this the more we can eavesdr-I mean, you know." Zack gave him his famous puppy eyes and Cloud crumbled in seconds.

"Okay fine," he grumbled, going off to a corner to change. He was happy to get rid of all the extra fabric, even if it helped with warmth, though he elected to leave off the clunky pauldrons on the SOLDIER uniform.

It was surprisingly comfortable, especially the ribbed turtleneck, and he could see why some of the SOLDIERS never really took it off. Pulling on the gloves, he turned back to Zack. The only problem would be the bare arms, but physical activity would alleviate that.

Zack was grinning at him as he came over. "What?"

"Nothing. See?" He gave a friendly jab at Cloud's shoulder. "It looks great on you!"

Cloud sputtered and hid his face, which he was sure was burning red by now. Did he really  _have_ to say that? Zack merely laughed as his reaction, resting a hand on the shorter boys shoulder. "It really does, Cloud. You'll make a good SOLDIER, I just know it."

Cloud didn't trust his voice right now or he would've said something back, so he merely shook his head in embarrassment.

"Right. Let's go sneak around and get in trouble now!" Zack grinned, getting a new mischievous look on his face. Cloud nodded, and followed him, quickly storing one of his swords in the harness on his back. He wanted to know just how many times Zack had gotten in trouble for something like this.

* * *

The two of them crept back as silently as they could, even if SOLDIER boots weren't really conducive to stealth. Zack motioned with his hand to stop, and then Cloud scooted under his arm, closer to the doorway to hear what was going on.

"-don't suppose you will tell us your connection to Hojo?" Sephiroth's voice was heard first.

"It's something you don't need to know. Nor do I…know myself." Valentine's voice was low and hard to hear.

"If you don't want to talk about it, we won't force you. We all have our secrets." Angeal seemed a little bit right of Sephiroth.

"You too, carry Jenova's taint." Vincent. There was a shuffling sound from Angeal's direction but he did not speak.

"I urge you, Sephiroth, to not do what Hojo says. This reactor has been abandoned for years, and whatever his motives, it does not mean well for you." Valentine's warning was soft, and Zack and Cloud looked quizzically at each other. Cloud didn't know much about any of this, much less what this Jenova- ** _the Calamity rises!_** _-_ thing was, but Zack seemed to have an inkling.  _I'll just ask him later. He promised._

"Are you doing this because you promised my m-mother?" Sephiroth seemed to be having trouble with that word.

"Anything I do now could not possibly resolve me of the sins I have committed. I have failed to protect Lucrecia, it is only fair that I am unable to do the same for her son." Vincent's voice was still soft, but strained. Cloud blinked. Was this Lucrecia person Sephiroth's mother he mentioned before? So the Turk  _did_ know her. Then he knew about Sephiroth's experiment…

"There are things beyond our control, you need not blame yourself for everything." Angeal spoke in a self-deprecating voice, which caused Zack to roll his eyes. 'I try so hard,' he mouthed silently at the trooper, who nearly laughed.

Silence from Vincent's end. Cloud figured he wasn't the type to speak about feelings, but he found out this wasn't the case when a gloved hand reached down and dragged him out by the collar on his sweater.

"Ow! What the hell?!" He shouted, trying to detach the hand, but stopping short in his struggles when he saw Angeal and Sephiroth staring at him."Oh. Hi."

Sephiroth looked downright annoyed, but Angeal just sighed. "Zack, stop dragging Cloud into all your plans."

Said SOLDIER in question peeked his head out. "Hey, he was just as much in on it as I was."

"You were not a part of this conversation." Sephiroth's smooth voice cut through Zack's fake cheerfullness. Vincent had let go of Cloud's sweater, determining he was not a threat. He glanced at his friend who was looking positively pissed, and braced himself for the storm. He'd never seen Zack angry but from what little he knew, the nicer they were, the scarier they could get when riled.

"Like Cloud wasn't a part of figuring out what's going on? Like the kid Tseng sent with us  _specifically to help_ wasn't a part of our group? Like I'm now not important enough to finally know whats happening to my friends?! It's like you don't trust me or something, after what we've been through!" Zack started out normal pitched but got louder each successive sentence. Angeal looked like he was about to say something, but Zack cut him off.

"No Angeal, shut up. I'm sick of this. Yeah, I'm aware its all personal crap that you're going through, but I've  _been here_ from the start, and I still don't understand the whole problem with Genesis and Hojo. Hell, half of the stuff I know I only got from my buddy Kunsel!" Zack shouted. Cloud was staring wildly between the ever-elegant General and the now-riled young SOLDIER, not sure who to be more wary of. Zack at the very least was on his side but-

"I am grateful for your help, Zack, but-" the General never got to finish his sentence either and Cloud was shocked his black-haired friend even had the nerve to cut off Sephiroth like that.

"I SAID I GOT IT ALREADY! I don't want to pry into your goddamn private business, I'm just tired of being out of the loop and all of you guys just fucking keeping it that way. Sure, a big important discussion about Jenova and how it relates to how Hojo is going to end the world or whatever, lets just throw Zack out of the room! Man, if you don't want me around, just say so instead of this shit!" Zack took a deep breath.

Cloud was frozen, his eyes wide. He'd never heard Zack swear like that.

"And then you go and shit all over my friend, who is putting everything on the line just  _being here, who saved Angeal's life, and_ you just shove him away because you're being paranoid! The kid just wants to help out, so do I, and from what I understand, so does Reno! But I'm sorry I didn't realize you don't  _trust us._ Man, you guys have to work out your issues, and until you do I'm outta here." Zack turned in a rage and grabbed onto Cloud's arm, taking the trooper with him as he started storming out of the mansion. The first class paused a moment, stopping by Valentine.

"Uh, sorry for interrupting," he said, ducking his head slightly. "Come on Cloud, lets go."

He had no objections but felt Valentine's eyes on his back the entire way out.

* * *

Zack didn't talk until they were all the way out by the chocobos, still with no sign of Reno. There, he sat down on the ground, rubbing his temples. "Wow Cloud, I'm sorry. That wasn't supposed to happen."

Cloud brushed away some pebbles and sat down as well, enjoying the feeling of the crisp air on his bare arms. "It's okay. I was kinda angry too."

"I just, wow. Now I kinda regret saying that. Angeal doesn't need more shit to deal with." Zack ran his hands down his face, making a weird expression.

"I'm uh, sure he'll understand." Cloud was terrible at this type of thing. How did he help someone like Zack, who always had the perfect answer for him whenever he was feeling down? How did he always know exactly what to say? Cloud really wished he had some of that insight right now, because all he had right now was nothing.

"Yeah…hope so. Though what Seph was doing was just uncalled for. Sorry again, Cloud," Zack said sadly.

"You don't have to apologize, I would've done the same thing if I had the guts to." It hurt to see his friend so hurt and unsure. Especially him being a normally unending fountain of levity. Zack smiled, at least a little bit.

"Thanks kid. I guess we're both a bit out of the loop. Man, I just wanna know whats going on. It's Angeal, you know? And Sephiroth. They're my friends and I thought they were still that, but I guess maybe everything changed too much. I don't know. I really don't." The first class rested his face in his gloves.

_What am I supposed to do? I'm not normally the strong one. Do I say everything will be okay? I can't promise anything like that, no one can._

"You'll figure it out. You're the great, dashing Zack Fair, remember?" And as much as his tone was teasing, Cloud truly did believe that.

Zack coughed suddenly, slowly breaking into laughter.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that funny!"

The SOLDIER shook his head, still laughing. "No, but the way you said it, I-you're great Cloud. Don't change, okay?"

Cloud merely stared at him, unnerved by the strange personality shifts, but he couldn't let his friend down. "Yeah, I won't."

Zack pulled the trooper into another hug, but this seemed more desperate then the last one, like Cloud was the only person left he had to cling to. The world must have been changing too fast, and as he felt Zack's racing pulse through his shirt, he realized the SOLDIER was just as scared and nervous as he was.

_I keep forgetting we are all still human in the end._

Zack backed off quickly, obviously embarrassed at his small outburst and shifted from his kneeling position. "Ha, sorry again."

Cloud just shook his head. "You're starting to sound like Angeal, with all the apologizing."

"Right…can't have that." The black-haired man clapped his hands together. "Well enough of that, then. Cloud Strife, I believe I owe you an explanation as to what I know about the situation at hand. Sit still, 'cause this'll take a bit, okay? It started after Angeal and I went to Wutai…."

 


	9. You are the Champion

**The Calamity stirred in her tomb. The Planet was awakening to Her existence, as was its Weapons. She could sense Them near. She was displeased, unable to sense Their intentions, just knowing ancient powers were waking.**

**The one called Chaos was now, it seemed, housed in a human shell. He had lost power and was not considered a threat, but on the edges of Her conscience, She could sense Them. The Golden People. The meddling Cetra, once again attempting to rob Her of Her birthright. This was their Chosen Weapon? She would see Him dead then, if He would not cooperate.**

**_There. There he is he is there there theretheretherethere My Son! My beautiful Son, come to me my Son, together we can conquer the World and destroy all those who dare stand in my way of becoming God._ **

**She called out to Her Son, but for some reason, He did not answer.**

* * *

Vincent Valentine had been woken from his 20 year long slumber suddenly, and in a very strange way. When he had opened his eyes, he had not expected to see two young children staring at him in horror. Furthermore, he would have dismissed them as mere inhabitants of the village, perhaps acting on a dare, had it not been for the Turk.

And he was a Turk. Just as much as the blond-haired boy, the one who had stirred Chaos from his own sleep, was a trooper of the Shinra army.

_Children._

Vincent Valentine was also not inclined to listen to them had it not been for one of them mentioning that Sephiroth, the only son of his dear Lucrecia, was here in this mansion. A chance encounter, as well as an opportunity, though Vincent thought it was only so he could further reflect on his sins.

Having met the now-General of SOLDIER, he could see so many features of Lucrecia in him-the way his hair parted, his fingers, his eyebrows, his passionate questioning. Each similarity he found sent a pang through his heart, reminding him he had slept too long. He had let Lucrecia's son become an experiment for a most despicable man.

He had then asked Sephiroth what he knew of his origin, and the answer was disturbing. Hojo had not only kept the information hidden, but had told him Jenova, the despicable creature used to 'make' him, was his mother. Nor did he know about his father…

Vincent expected no less from the man who had ruined their lives, but now he did not know what to tell Sephiroth to do. Hojo's motives in sending Sephiroth back to his birthplace couldn't be anything but trouble, and the feeling he was getting from the reactor was unsettling. Chaos stirred again, whispering something too low for Vincent to comprehend, but Lucrecia's son was not to go to the reactor. That was final.

And that is what he had told the General and his friend, who too carried the Calamity's taint. Sephiroth had not been the only one involved in the Jenova project, as he saw now; Vincent wondered how much else he had missed in his 20 year long slumber.

Unfortunately, Vincent was not able to tell him much before they were interrupted by eavesdroppers. What he had to say was for Sephiroth and Sephiroth alone, but while he was not happy with the presence of others, something told him this wasn't a sanctioned meet-up and news of his existence would not travel far.

He had dragged the boy, Cloud, out of hiding-the former Turk had known he was there immediately. It wasn't that he was noisy, since the boy was surprisingly quiet for just a trooper, but rather the sense of the Planet. Vincent had never seen the boy before in his life but Chaos instinctively jumped at him. The creature _knew_ him.

Of course, since they were there, Vincent refused to say another word. He did not trust his secrets to anyone except for Lucrecia's son, and the other Jenova-tainted man was pushing it. And yet, after the other SOLDIER'S outburst and prompt departure, he held a strange feeling in his heart.

_Friends…it has been so long since I could call anyone that. Sephiroth…I see. He is not alone. Perhaps I have less of a purpose here._

And now, he was standing on the balcony with Sephiroth and Angeal, the other man looking like he had been stricken by the the younger Zack's words. He did not have the patience to figure out the relationship dynamics between this odd group, but it looked as though no one was willing to talk anymore.

There were two anomalies on Vincent's radar he needed to fix: the Turk boy who had run off at the mere mention of Hojo, and Cloud. Normally, he would have long ago gone back down to the basement and faced his nightmares again, but having met these few, Vincent sensed his time to wake up was long overdue.

* * *

Cloud's eyes were wide the entire time Zack told him the strange and twisted tale of the three top SOLDIERS, Hojo, Hollander, and Jenova. Or at least what he knew, since Zack himself said he didn't know all the details. Belatedly, he wondered if he really was getting into deep. Thinking back on all the strange mutated people and monsters he'd seen, Angeal's instability, the red-coated man he now understood to be Genesis, and Shinra's systematic erasure of all evidence, Cloud finally saw why Zack wanted him to get away while he could.

But it was too late for him now. He'd seen the pain behind the scars of those experiments, he'd seen Zack's fear, everyone's fear as they were being turned into monsters because of a few mad scientists' hubris. And ever since the fight with the safe monster, Cloud felt that he could possibly figure out a way to help them. Even a little trooper like him.

Zack was waiting patiently for his reaction, unsure of how his friend would respond to all this information.

"…you weren't lying," Cloud finally spoke up, stunned. "I knew things were messed up, but…wow."

"Wow is right…man, at least  _now_ do you see why I didn't want you to come?" Zack asked. "It's not cause of your weird thing with being weak. It's because I didn't want someone  _else_ to get mixed up with all this shit."

_So you mean, you don't want what's happened to you….to happen to me. Is this a thing friends do?_  Cloud hadn't met many people who would try to protect him like that.

"Yeah, I get it…and I guess, uh…thanks," he said really softly, hoping his friend wouldn't hear. He'd always been terrible at thanking people. "But I think I'm in too deep now. Like I said, I'm not gonna quit, even with…this."

He gestured his hand out to the whole mansion, trying to encompass all they had encountered and done for the past few hours. Zack laughed shortly. "Man kid, sometimes I wonder about your common sense. But you'll be great to have along. Now, its your turn to spill. I told you about my stuff, so you tell me about this big monster you fought!"

The young SOLDIER had such an eager puppy look on his face  _again_ that Cloud snorted into his hands. "Okay, fine, I'll do that much."

In actuality, he was glad to finally tell someone besides Reno about it, since the entire fight was strange and surreal, and he'd never gotten to apologize for breaking the materia and the sword, both of which Zack had paid for.

He was a great audience too, giving comments at all the right points, and even whistling when Cloud finally admitted to letting out a Firaga spell.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I kinda broke the materia," he said apologetically, holding up his right arm with the bracer. The red Odin summon was still nestled in there safely, and there was no way he was going to touch that thing after his outburst.

Zack however, didn't look angry at all, merely amused and almost…proud? He laughed at patted Cloud on the back with enough force to knock him forward. "It looks like we'll need to get you some sturdier equipment, if you're gonna be destroying it all left and right like that!"

He flushed, burying his face in his hands again. Did Zack really have to put it like that?

"You melted that sword with the materia too, right?" Zack asked, causing Cloud to pull up.

"Yeah, I sort of set it on fire and then threw it," He answered, and the SOLDIER merely looked lost in thought.

"And this is your first time using materia in a battle situation, right?" Zack had that same strange look on his face.

"Yeah." His mother had told him a little about materia, and they got a sort of briefing about it in training but cadets weren't allowed to work with materia much other then basic testing.

"Wow, you must have a natural talent at this, that's amazing!" Zack said, his eyes lighting up. Cloud merely stared at him confused until he continued explaining. "That thing with the sword and the fire? That is like a really high skill-level technique. I'm talking like SOLDIER second and first high."

"What the-"

"It's true Cloud, I'm not even sure how many people I know could pull it off! I might be able to with some effort but…." Zack was practically bursting with admiration (and possibly envy) and the trooper was horrified. He'd just done something that felt natural, why was he getting so worked up over it? And why was he actually impressed enough to admit it?

"Reno was impressed too…" he said quietly, remembering the shocked look on the red-head's face.

"Really? A Turk? Damn, that must've been an impressive fight, wish I was there…" Zack remarked wistfully. Cloud shifted uncomfortably on the ground, and his friend seemed to notice his discomfort. "Did I say something bad?"

"No, it's just feels like I did something wrong with the way everyone's reacting." He held up his hands.

Zack shook his head vigorously. "No, no, that's not it! I'm just really surprised and impressed. I think everyone is. I mean like, ah…you're a…trooper and most people, y'know…."

He was trying really hard not to insult Cloud, who merely smiled away his concern. "It's okay, I know what you mean. Honestly, I'm not sure where it came from either but I kinda like it."

"And you should!" A hand fell on his head again, ruffling his spikes around. "I'm gonna make sure you're a great SOLDIER!"

"You keep saying that…" he grumbled from the attack on his hair.

"Yeah, that's because I forgot to tell you when we get back to Shinra, I'll sponsor you to be a cadet!"

Cloud froze in completely in place. "What?"

"The application period has already closed, but if an enlisted SOLDIER sponsors you, you can still get in," Zack said eagerly. "Man, I keep forgetting to tell you that."

Cloud was completely struck dumb at the fact Zack would go to that length for him. That his dream really was possible for a second time.

"…you okay Cloud?" His friend waved a hand in front of his face and he blinked, startled.

"What? Yes, I am. Just…you can really do that?"

"Course I can, kid! Though it does have his drawbacks…" Zack gave him a wry smile.

"Like?"

"Like…everyone's gonna be focused on you, wondering why a first-class SOLDIER picked you out. And most of the other cadets are gonna be jealous. Basically, you'll be under a lot more scrutiny then normal." Zack shrugged. "If you want me to, anyway."

Could he handle that? His first go around, he'd been bullied relentlessly, but this time he had a couple powerful allies, namely in Reno and Zack. (he was assuming with the first one). This time would be different, anyway. They'd want to see what he was made of and it would be such a perfect opportunity to get back at them….if he had the skill to. But after the fight with the safe monster and everyone's reactions to it, he was feeling more daring then ever before. Besides, Zack said he'd help with training.

"I want to do it." Cloud nodded, starting to smile. It was nerve-wracking, yes, but he really wanted this. He could do it.

"Knew you would. You'll kick their asses." Zack hopped up again so he was standing. "Hey, any questions? You got everything?"

He nodded. Well, it was confusing, but he had a far better grip on the situation then before, for all the good it did him. "You know, we should go find out what's wrong with Reno. He's acting funny."

"Yeah…" Zack looked distant. "You should go handle that, I probably need to apologize to Angeal and Seph."

"It isn't all your fault, you know that."

"Yeah, but I coulda handled it better. So we good here?" Zack asked him. Cloud nodded again, and the SOLDIER first took off towards the mansion, leaving the trooper alone with the chocobos.

* * *

The moment Vincent Valentine had said his name, Reno had known something was off. He had heard that name before; their old leader, Veld, had mentioned it many times, always with a sense of sadness. The man had been an amazing Turk, almost as legendary as Sephiroth-among their group at least-and Veld's partner. However, on an ill-fated mission to Nibelheim, he disappeared and was declared 'retired'.

However, now that he and Cloud had found the man not only perfectly alive but fully functioning in the basement of Shinra manor, Reno knew what was up with Hojo's threat. Before, he had thought it was just Creep-show doing what he did best, and trying to freak the red-head out with cryptic words.

_But he wasn't lying, was he….he really did make a Turk disappear 'cause he got in the way. An' not just any Turk. Vincent Valentine._

If Valentine himself had ended up like that, then what was in store for Reno?

He clenched his hand into a fist and punched the side of the building, deciding against using full-force at the last minute. He didn't need a broken fist on top of everything else. This was so stupid. This was stupid, horrible, dumb…Reno rested his head against the wall underneath the fist. Was it really worth risking his life, his entire future for that dumb, blonde trooper?

_God, I…don't know what to do._

The more he learned, the less he wanted to work for Hojo and his creepy plans, but honestly, Reno couldn't see a way out. He'd left Tseng a message, but that meant jack-shit with his boss in Midgar surrounded by all the high-class assholes. Sephiroth didn't trust him, and as long as he was a Turk, no one would.

He couldn't tell them. He was a Turk. His first loyalty was to the company. But this was about Cloud. Why was it about Cloud? What was going on?!

Reno gave the wall a resounding kick as well, which did nothing but make his foot hurt and he collapsed on the ground.

"I fucking hate this…why me…?" Reno muttered. What would Tseng or Rude tell him to do? Probably to follow company orders, no need to get into trouble for a trooper. But Tseng had told him to help them out. Divided loyalties didn't come any worse then this.

And there was Cloud to think about. Like, at first, Reno hadn't cared much about him. Then he held back at the fight with the monster in the safe and holy hell, had the kid pulled through. Reno wasn't even sure if he'd be able to pull off what Cloud had, but the trooper with no previous experience had  _nailed it._ And Reno was thoroughly impressed. And he was smart and a good partner to boot-as long as Cloud never found out he thought that-so he was wondering if he really wanted to keep going along with this.

But really, would Tseng or anyone be able to stop what happened to Vincent from happening to him? Or would he be just another 'retired Turk'?

A deliberate crunch of a shoe alerted him someone was near him. Reno looked up, suspecting Cloud but nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw who it was. Vincent Valentine, cape and everything, was standing there, staring at him.

He waited, but the other man did not move from his spot. In fact, he barely moved at all, so Reno just sighed, and went back to sitting against the wall. "Whadd'ya want…"

There was no answer for awhile, except,"Why did you run away?"

"Ohhh, man, that's a loaded question." Reno side-glanced Vincent, who did not even blink, merely looked at him with curiosity.

"Look, as much as I'd love to tell you all about my woeful life, I can't. You got it?" He shrugged, even as he kept looking at the taller man. It was a bit like reading Rude really, easier in fact since this man didn't have sunglasses. Harder in the fact he seemed to resemble a statue at times. Vincent was still staring at him, questioning.

"I said I can't say. You're a Turk. You should know that."

"You recognized my name."

Reno looked up at him.  _Rather talkative to me, isn't he?_ "Yeah. Veld used to talk about you some. 'Course, everyone thought you were dead."

A small breeze whipped up, rustling Reno's red spikes, and he could hear the small flap of Vincent's cape. It was awhile before either of them even so much as moved.

"Hojo has told you to do something for him, has he not?" Vincent's soft voice cut through the air.

Reno froze perfectly in place.  _By the gods, how did he…_ "You're-"

"I made a similar mistake, and lost something very dear. Do not do the same as me." With that the older Turk turned around, bringing the cape behind him in a dramatic flourish. He began to walk away, but a desperate sentence from Reno drew him back.

"I always thought the Turks were untouchable!" The red-head scrambled up from where he was sitting as Vincent stopped moving.

The taller man turned his head slowly, and-was he smiling? It was very slight, but still there. "I thought so too."

And so he disappeared, leaving Reno in a greater confusion then when he started out.

* * *

Cloud couldn't find Reno no matter where he looked, but the kid was a Turk, so it was to be expected. He still wanted to find him, though. Something had disturbed the Turk enough to run away, and Reno did not startle easily. Cloud was worried, though he didn't know why, especially since the red-head was annoying as hell.

Instead of that Turk, he ran into someone else he was not trying to meet-a blur of red and gold and a sense of the Planet. Vincent Valentine had appeared before him. He stepped back slightly, still not used to the man's own brand of stealth, and looked up at him.

"I…oh. Um, hi."

Valentine didn't say anything, merely kept studying him. Cloud felt a bit guilty for eavesdropping on the man earlier, though he really  _had_ wanted to know what was going on. So he wasn't totally feeling bad for it. But still…

"Sorry for interrupting you earlier," He said. Valentine did not respond, but instead eventually closed his eyes, which Cloud took as (hopefully) an acceptance of his apology. The sense of the Planet was still coming off strong in him, which made the retired Turk very hard to miss, despite his expertise in stealth.

Cloud nearly opened his mouth to ask him why that is, then immediately thought better. Valentine had mentioned Hojo, and from what he knew, some things were better left unsaid. And yet…the presence inside of him was still there, almost as if calling to him.

**Little Champion of the Planet, I see. Are you afraid?**

Cloud jumped, his eyes widening as he glanced up at Vincent. The man was staring at him curiously, almost surprised. "You can hear Chaos?"

"Who?" Cloud had no idea who Valentine was talking about, but the former Turk did not seem to be listening. In fact…was he muttering under his breath again? "Um, what are you talking about? What exactly happened to you?"

Vincent still took barely any notice of him, but a shadow passed over his face. Cloud had enough sense to know something was very wrong.

"Be careful." The man finally spoke, and with those two words, he jumped up and was gone, leaving the trooper just as confused as when he'd left.

_I never even got to ask him where Reno was, dammit!_ This business was really starting to creep him out.

"Yo, what's with the change in outfit?" A familiar drawling voice sounded behind him, and Cloud spun around to see the familiar red-headed  _normal_  (that was a good one) Turk standing behind him.

"Reno! Where were you?!" He said loudly, glad to see the idiot was okay.

"Aww, you miss me, Cloudy? It's okay, you can admit it." Reno grinned and Cloud immediately no longer felt worried about him at all. Or felt anything other then the urge to stab him in the gut.

"We're done here." The trooper immediately turned away and starting walking towards the mansion.

"I just asked a simple question, jeez, Cloud. You goin' be SOLDIER or something?" Reno slung an arm around his shoulders.

Cloud removed the arm and answered. "Yes. Now stop touching me."

He put the arm back on. "We can work together then, ya know."

"It's SOLDIER, not the Turks."

"So? We all answer to the same power. You know you want to."

Cloud stopped in place. "Remove your arm, or I will remove it from your body."

Reno pulled a face, but did as he said. "Man, touchy today, are you?"

"All I want to know is why you ran away like that. What happened?"

"Can't tell you, man. It's classified." Reno looked nonchalant, folding his hands behind his head.

"That seems to be a theme around here!" Cloud was ready to explode himself at the red-head, but Reno held up his hands, his face serious for once.

"Look, I can't say anything okay? I really can't but it ain't 'cause I'm out to get you or whatever." Reno suddenly grabbed Cloud by the shoulders and stared him directly in the eyes.

"Stay. Away. From Hojo."

The Turk's tone and look prevented him from saying anything in return. Reno stayed that way for a little bit before turning away, brushing away a few stray hairs from his face, and leaving. Cloud just stood there, shaken. He'd gone from ignored and shoved aside to people taking a vested interested in him in a matter of a hours. Why was everyone obsessed with Hojo, and what did it even have to do with him?

* * *

Cloud followed the two Turks-though he suspected Vincent didn't want to be called that- back into the mansion, hoping to finally get in on all the action. Then again, the safe monster had enough action for him for another few days.

"It's getting late…" Cloud said, staring out one of the dilapidated windows. They had gotten here around midday with the chocobos, and after all the stuff that happened, the day was nearing its end.

"Probably should wrap things up here and head to the reactor tomorrow, then." Reno had waited behind a bit to allow Cloud to catch up to him.

"Where is everyone?" The trooper shuffled over to him, still kind of weirded out by his previous statements. Reno was acting really serious right now as well, which was the unnerving part.

"Uhh, I saw Vincent headin' down the way to the basement. I'm guessin' Sephiroth and the rest are down there seeing what they can find in the library." Reno pointed with his EMR. "Come on."

"What did you mean by earlier?" Cloud asked, walking quickly to keep up with the red-head.

"'xactly what I said, slick. Got it? Sooner we get this done, sooner we can go home." And with that, Reno stopped talking.

_Something must be wrong if it can shut Reno up like that…_ And with what Vincent said, Cloud knew he'd have to be on his guard from now on.

* * *

Zack slowly stepped into the library where Angeal and Sephiroth were, trying not to make much noise. He was treading on broken glass here- he was not sure how well his mentor and the General had taken his explosion, which is why he was surprised when Sephiroth looked up and moved away so that he could have a moment with Angeal.

Silently thankful, Zack stepped over to him and began to talk quietly. "Listen Angeal, about before…I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have blown up like that."

"Zack…" Angeal looked regretful. "No. You aren't the one who needs to apologize. I have been caught up with all that has come to light and not paid proper attention to your situation.  _I_ am sorry, Zack."

The SOLDIER in question blinked. "But I-"

"I know. You were angry. And probably said some things you regret. But it was the truth, right?" His mentor looked straight at him.

"I, well…." He couldn't really deny it. "Yes…"

Angeal gave him a warm smile. "I kind of figured. It's not normally like you to get angry like that, even for the behalf of others. Don't worry, I trust you and Cloud. I'm just…still getting used to having faith put into me."

Zack stared for a bit, since it was unusual for his teacher to be this upfront with his feelings. "I…"

"Reno is another story, but I will trust your judgement on this. Tseng and the Turks will be a valuable ally to have," Angeal continued on. "We need to work together from now on and even Sephiroth agrees with me."

The older first class threw a look back at the General-was he sulking?-who merely nodded. "I will try."

Zack didn't know what Angeal had told Sephiroth to get him to cooperate but he was grateful for it.

"Just…tell us before it gets this bad next time, okay? We have enough to deal with, so we can't be arguing among ourselves." Angeal looked at him and Zack quickly nodded, feeling the relief he hadn't gotten for the past few days wash over him.

_It will be alright. We'll all be alright._

_Trust me._

* * *

Cloud and Reno, as they had thought, found the rest of the group down in the library. Vincent was there-the trooper could sense him off in a corner, even if he couldn't actually see him, which was unnerving. Zack and Angeal were shuffling around in the papers and he heard Sephiroth down the small hallway to an office at the other end, no doubt looking up whatever Valentine had told him.

Cloud himself, along with his Turk sidekick-yes  _sidekick-_ decided to go check out the creepy looking lab at the other end of the room. The table he tried staying away from-it smelled funny and it had that weird air of disease and chaos around it, like something had died there.  _Something probably has._

Reno on the other hand, was happily skipping through the library, probably glad to finally be a part of the group and more likely, have access to all the horrible forbidden secrets. Cloud himself could feel Vincent's gaze on him at all times so he kept nervously glancing over at the shadowy corner. Eventually, the former Turk emerged and headed over towards Sephiroth, not before casting a final curious glance at him.

The trooper shook himself. What was that man's problem with him? And what was that constant muttering in his mind all about?

**_Little Champion of the Planet….a bad fate for you is in the making._ **

* * *

"Woah, what the hell?" Cloud was startled out of his trance by Reno's loud statement. Zack and Angeal immediately turned towards him while he tried to peer over the young Turk's shoulder at the book he was holding.

"What is it?" he asked.

Reno didn't answer for a minute. "…the hell is the DeepGround Project?"

There were blank stares across the board, and no noise from down in the office, so it was evident no one had heard of it before.

"You got me," Zack muttered, running his hand through his hair. "What does it say?"

"Something, something, initiate the DeepGround project below Midgar….highly classified….keep check on…wait, WHAT?" Reno's eyes bugged out as he found something major. "What's this about Genesis?"

_That_ got everyone's attention and in barely a second, the General was there. "What is it?"

The red-head glanced up at everyone. "There ain't that much info in here, yo. I mean half the pages are missin' an' I can barely read the rest. All it did was mention some DeepGround thing and Genesis' name."

"DeepGround…" Sephiroth looked thoughtful. "I have never heard of such a thing."

"Man it must be somethin' super secret if neither you nor I have heard about it. But…it doesn't mention anything else, just something about medical facilities and SOLDIER." Reno tapped the book against his chin.

"It is likely it is an old project, and discontinued before either of you were born, which is why no one has heard of it," Angeal said. "Either way, It doesn't seem relevant to anything now. Let's ignore it."

That seemed to be the general agreement, even if Cloud was still curious. Reno stared at him and shrugged, before putting the book back in its place.

* * *

"He…experimented on me since birth…." From what Vincent could see, Sephiroth was not taking the tale of his origins very well, and he did not know what to tell him. The former Turk did not know the extent of what Hojo had done to either of them, and yet the burning rage had remained.

"He wished to make me a monster."

"Much similar to your friends, yes," Vincent said softly.

Sephiroth slammed his fist down on the table. "I have had that man toy with my life far too long!"

"I am sorry." The cat-like eyes-Jenova's…no, Lucrecia's eyes-flicked up to look at him.

"You…? Why?" His voice practically whispered.

"My sin was that I was unable to stop Hojo. And thus, unable to stop what has plagued your life with sorrow. It is only fitting I should be locked up here as a failed experiment."

Those eyes never moved once. "This is all…Hojo's fault. With my mother, and with you…you are the same as me. How is that your fault?"

Vincent turned his head slightly. Lucrecia's son did not blame him for his mother's death? "I was powerless to stop him, and now I have slept far too long and let him have his way."

"Even if that is true, our enemy is not you. I have no issue with what you think you've done, just with the man who…." Sephiroth gestured his hand to the destroyed office.

"Hojo…" Vincent growled, and the monsters that crawled in his soul clamored as well. They thirsted for blood, as much as their host did.  ** _What the scientist had wrought, they would deal out ten-fold._**

"…Valentine?" Sephiroth was staring at him with a strange expression, but Vincent brushed him off.

"I am fine…"

* * *

There was a loud crashing sound that brought Zack running. He had been checking in on Sephiroth, who had found a curious book in the office- _thank god Vincent seemed to have calmed him down-_ when it sounded as though someone had upended a bookcase in the main area. Instead, he found a rather dead looking monster and Reno with a smug look.

"Okay, what the hell happened here?" He directed the question to Cloud, who had a mixture of murder and annoyance on his face.

"Well, Reno killed a monster with a book." Cloud said, staring at the corpse.

"How did he kill a monster with a  _book?_ "

"Well...it was a very large book," He said slowly.

"The encyclopedia of every single monster that's ever been catalogued!" Reno crowed, hefting the huge tome in his left hand. "Man, this sucker's heavy."

"Could you two please focus?" Angeal emerged from checking out Vincent's crypt.

"Hey, it was his fault!" Cloud looked wounded, pointing at the red-headed Turk.

"Speak for yourself, shortie. You scared the damn thing up."

" _We are the same height."_

All Sephiroth had to do was clear his throat and both of the teenagers shut up. Zack cast an amused glance at Cloud, who now looked mortified in front of the General.

"What is it, Sephiroth?" He asked, sparing the kid any further pain.

The General glanced back at the hallway. "I have found some very unusual things in this office. Come."

* * *

Cloud followed the group into the tiny cramped office. Reno stayed partly out in the hallway, probably because he didn't want to get squashed into a small room with an ex-Turk and a bunch of large SOLDIERs, as Cloud was.  _Please let this get over with quickly…_

"There were many documents pertaining to my…history here in Nibelheim that I have had a chance to look over, but I am concerned with the ones specifically detailing something called the Jenova project." Sephiroth pulled a face as he said those words, and Cloud could only hope that he was okay with this information. He really didn't want to see the General angry, especially at close quarters.

"What do they say?" Angeal asked.

"It explains how they unearthed the creature from ice around 20 years ago, before I was born, and mistook it for an Ancient. As well as using its cells for…..experiments." Sephiroth's fists clenched against the chair, which creaked under his strength. Cloud watched him, worried.

"To create a perfect soldier," Vincent's low voice rang out, "in Hojo's case. And also to prove the Reunion theory."

"The reunion theory…" Zack muttered, testing the word. "Can't say I've heard of that one."

"Something about how Jenova cells will always try to return to each other," Sephiroth said, pulling out another book from one of the drawers. "And there was this. A note was stuck on it, signifying it of special interest."

Cloud and Reno leaned in forward, curious about what the subject of it was.

"There seemed to be a lot of research done on true Ancients, and this book contained stories that-"

"Hey, wait a minute!" Cloud suddenly shouted. Everyone's gaze snapped to him in a millisecond and he immediately regretted his outburst.

"Yes?" The Generals voice was very testy, and he could feel Vincent's gaze boring into him.

"I….where did you find that book?" He pointed a gloved finger at the dusty volume under Sephiroth's hand.

"In this desk drawer, when I searched the office."

"That's mine!" Cloud said, reaching over to it. The General quickly drew his hand away, startled by the trooper's sudden reaction.

"Strife, it is a children's book, there are many copies like it-"

"No, it's  _mine."_ He flipped the book open to the first page, and sure enough, his name was printed on the inside cover in tiny letters. "See?"

There were various noises of shock from everyone in the room, and even Vincent's eyes widened. Cloud flipped through a few pages, but other then some strange writing in the margins, it seemed exactly the same as it was years ago.

"How…" Sephiroth whispered.

"I don't know. I thought I lost this book when I was like eight. I read from it almost every night." He ran his fingers down the familiar words. "My dad gave it to me…"

"Your dad?" Zack was curious.

"Yeah. He's dead. But why would my book be here?"

"I would very much like to know that as well, Strife," Sephiroth said. "It can't be Hojo's doing, the handwriting in that book is different from the other papers, but it remarked something about its relations to the Ancients. I highly doubt Shinra scientists would study fairy tales for research."

Cloud didn't know what to tell them but what he did know was that they found his old storybook in a hidden room at an abandoned Shinra building, and nothing about that sounded good. He looked around, and everyone's faces were troubled. "I'm-I'm sorry, I wish I could explain."

"I might be able to." A voice rang behind him, and Cloud turned around to see Reno leaning against the doorframe. "I have something very, very interesting to tell you."

 


	10. Activate!

A single black feather fell from the sky.

The reactor did seem abandoned, had it not been for the chocobo tracks passing their way to town. A faint whispering came from inside, but he ignored it for now. His prey was not there.

Sephiroth himself had come to Nibelheim, on a mission to investigate the oddities of the looming, dark structure, and that was whom he sought. He had followed Angeal's trail-both of his old friends, converged in the same place. What were they planning? Why was he always the one left out?

Angeal had brought his puppy and a strange blond-haired boy with him. His time was running out-for both of them, really-and yet he kept up this escapade that he was still human. That wings did not mean monster.

They were not his goal. Jenova was. Hollander was. And yet…a faint warmth in his heart had led him to be curious about old bonds broken. Here the three friends meet again, but who shall be the hero?

The black feather gently rested against the ground as the mysterious man took flight.

"Okay, spill it, Reno. What do you know about Cloud?" Zack was getting defensive at the red-head and certainly not helping the situation. Cloud however, didn't stop him, since not only had Reno been acting weird, but he'd just found one of his missing books in Hojo's former lab.

"Chill, chill. Your mom ever teach you that askin' rudely gets you nowhere?" The Turk held his hands up.

"Then speak up, Turk." Angeal's voice was as frosty as Sephiroth's glare.

"Like I said, ask-"

"We do not have time for politeness. You will speak now, or hold your tongue," Sephiroth said, his tone laced with a threat.

"Look, I'm riskin' my life here!" Reno suddenly shouted, and all semblance of his easy-going attitude completely disappeared. No longer was he just a Turk, but a teenager who had seen and heard too much. That shocked everyone-even the General-into silence.

Cloud wanted to tread carefully here, as desperately curious as he was. Something had disturbed his new companion badly. "What is it, Reno…"

The red-head let out a short laugh. "Well, if I end up like Vincent, I'm comin' back to haunt all you guys." He clapped his hands together. "'kay, so you know how Tseng sent me on this mission to give you guys a hand, as much as you hate it?"

Various nods all around and a silent stare from Sephiroth.

"Well, he ain't the only one who told me to do somethin' while I was here. Professor Creep-show-or I should say Hojo-also decided to put in his two cents," Reno said, putting his hands back in his pockets.

The wooden beams of the chair broke under Sephiroth's grip, and Reno suddenly backed up. The other two SOLDIERS were far more vocal.

"What do you mean, Hojo?!" Zack said loudly, staring at the Turk. The red-head had his hands raised defensively, like he was afraid everyone in the room was going to jump him.

"Calm down and let him speak." Vincent's soft voice cut quickly silenced the protests, and everyone turned to him in surprise. It was the first time he had spoken to anyone who wasn't Sephiroth while they were in the library.

"Tell me what he wanted, Turk…" Sephiroth growled, the chair again creaking dangerously. Cloud merely stood his ground between Reno and the agitated SOLDIERS, which now seemed a very dangerous place to be, but at least the mysterious Vincent was on his side.

"Holy shit, guys, an' you wonder why I didn't wanna say anything…"Reno really did looked freaked out by the General and Cloud actually felt sorry for him, even if it was overrode by dying curiosity.

The Turk took a deep breath. "Hojo was off rantin' about how nothing was going his way, and because of that he needed my help. Somehow he knew the two of you-" he pointed at Zack and Angeal-"were gonna be here, and sent me along for a 'special' mission."

There was a horrible, deadly silence in the room, and Cloud swallowed slowly.

"That special mission was not to keep an eye on the General, but rather to bring a certain someone back to Shinra at all costs," Reno said slowly, avoiding all eye contact.

Cloud could hear Sephiroth muttering something under his breath, and backed up slightly, accidentally running into Vincent, who didn't seem to notice. Zack and Angeal however, both had strained looks on their faces, even if the younger SOLDIER was the more expressive of the two.

"Reno….who did he want you to bring back…" Zack said slowly, as if afraid of the answer.

"Was it me?" Angeal asked, looking around at everyone. The others seemed to agree with that assumption, but Reno shook his head wildly, his eyes wide.

"No, I thought you or Sephiroth too, but he shot me down. He didn't care about any of you!" The red-head's fingers started playing with his EMR.

"Then who…." Cloud asked, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Reno didn't answer, but merely let out a long breath, his eyes sliding over to the trooper. As soon as Reno's gaze met his, Cloud's blood ran cold. I was right….

"He wants me," the trooper said, and the Turk just nodded. Cloud's hands dropped to his side, and he started breathing heavier, attempting to stay the panic that was rising from the pit of his stomach.

"Are you serious?!" The trooper turned to see Zack, who had a horrified expression. "Cloud? Are you fucking serious?!"

"You think I'd make up shit like this?" Reno said. "I have no idea why the hell he wants the kid but that's what he told me!"

Cloud was almost afraid to look even farther and see what the General's reaction was, but he did it anyway. Sephiroth was staring straight at him and he fought down the urge to cut and run. The cold eyes, boring directly into his soul….the hairs raised on the back of his neck as he tried keeping his composure.

"Why…"Sephiroth muttered. "Why you…"

The chair could not take any more abuse and finally collapsed, causing Cloud to jump backwards and knock into the wall. So that's why he was freaking out…the only person who could shut up a Turk was Hojo.

Zack himself looked positively murderous. "And you were just going to do it, Reno?"

He started walking towards the Turk, hand on his sword, but the trooper quickly raised his hands, hoping to stop him. However, before he even got close, Angeal's hand rested on Zack's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"Zack, stop this. He is not the enemy," The older man said. "He is risking his very life to tell us."

"You got that right, yo! Hell, he told me if I ever did, well, I'd end up like Vincent." Reno cast a significant look to the red-cloaked man, who had been watching the whole exchange impassively.

"So THAT'S why you freaked and ran away…" Cloud said. It all made sense now, since the Turk had only started panicking after Vincent had mentioned the name Hojo.

"I thought he was lyin' when he said he could disappear a Turk. But if he could do it to the great Vincent Valentine, then, well, I'm screwed." The red-head grinned, but Cloud could see the tips of his fingers shaking.

Luckily, that managed to calm Zack down, who was still looking murderous, but at least not at Reno. Sephiroth, however, was another story. He was still staring at Cloud, but saying nothing, and it bothered him to no end.

"Do you…think it's some connection to my book being here?" Cloud slowly asked, trying to break the tension. It didn't really work, but at least Angeal answered him.

"I don't know, but it leads to the conclusion you are now involved whether you wanted to be or not." The larger man sighed. "I am sorry, Cloud."

This time he didn't answer, because he didn't know how.

"I left a message with Tseng so he's probably figurin' out what he can," Reno said. "I can't do much though, an' you know that. I ain't gonna end up as a lab rat for that creep."

Cloud glanced sideways at him, several odd feelings coursing through him. Had the Turk ever really wanted to sell him out? Despite his annoying personality, he really didn't seem that bad of a guy, and Tseng had trusted him enough. And there was the fact that Reno had gone out of his way to try and make friends with him-except did he do that to complete his mission?

"Look, I can't say anything okay? I really can't but it ain't 'cause I'm out to get you or whatever."

He'd been completely serious when he said that. The look the red-head was giving him now told him the same thing.

Cloud would have to trust him.

Besides, if he tried anything, I'm fairly certain Zack would attempt to behead him.

"Cloud, you okay?" Zack was looking at him in concern, and he just nodded, trying to get him to not worry. He could deal with this.

"I'm-I'm fine…" he said, casting another glance at the General. Sephiroth had not moved his gaze away from the trooper, but rather his stare had grown more intense. Had he done something to upset him?

"Hojo…he wants to use you next…" Sephiroth continued to mutter, even if everyone in the room heard him.

Next? For what?

He did not want the answer to that question. Suddenly, Sephiroth straightened up, looming over the room. "He will not have his way again, Strife."

Cloud nearly choked on his next breath as the General said that. Was he promising to protect him? THE General, the man he looked up to his whole life. Sephiroth was on his side?

"Needless to say…I don't think we can do anything about it now. It's getting late, and we should wrap things up before heading to the reactor tomorrow," Angeal said, attempting to calm the nerves of the crowd.

Cloud was grateful for this, because the constant fighting was getting to him and sleep sounded nice, as long as it was as far away from Nibelheim as he could get.

"Yeah…come on guys, lets get back up to the mansion proper," Zack answered, herding Reno and Cloud in front of him. None of them spoke any further, but they all knew the same thing: returning to Shinra now might not be the best thing to do.

Sephiroth and Reno were to return to the inn in Nibelheim, being the only ones officially here on the mission. The rest of them-including Vincent, Cloud assumed, he had not seen the man since they left the library-would stay around in the Shinra manor, where no one would find them.

"Everything is covered in dust and I'm gonna be sneezing all night!" Zack complained as they searched for a good place to stay.

"You could always sleep outside with the chocobos," Angeal said with a light smile, earning him a scowl.

"No thanks, I'd rather stay in that creepy lab…" the younger SOLDIER continued to grumble under his breath, and Cloud would've smiled at the spectacle had he not been troubled by all that Reno had said. The book was still clutched in his hand, having refused to let it go since it was a memento of his late father and possibly a clue to how he was related to this whole mess.

He chose to stay in the room right by the secret passage, if only for the convenience and he could tell if someone was heading down there. Zack practically forced Angeal to go to bed, and then turned suddenly on Cloud.

"You can't go back to Shinra," he said, standing squarely in front of the trooper.

"Why not? You just said you'd sponsor-"

"To hell with that, Cloud! If Hojo's after you, you can't go back!" Zack looked desperate, even reaching out to hold him in place as he tried to leave. "If you go back, something terrible might happen to you! Did you not hear what I had to say?"

Cloud shook his head. He did, but it wasn't that simple. "Zack, I don't want to-"

"I don't want to lose you too!"

That one shocked him into silence.

"Everyone…everyone's been involved in this case, and everyone's been affected by it and Angeal, he just….he just left me behind! And Sephiroth, he's hurting and he doesn't trust anyone. Genesis is another story and the Turks…Tseng can't do anything. Cissnei can't do anything. Don't you get it? They are all my friends and they keep leaving, and have this shit happen to them, and I don't want you to be like that too!" Zack's voice got more frantic as he went on until he was nearly running out of breath. "Please Cloud, you're a great kid. You can't suffer like them."

He couldn't say anything to that. How could he? He had never seen Zack this desperate and this…scared, not even after he had blown up at Angeal and Sephiroth for ignoring him. Even then it had been more out of frustration than anything else.

What can I say to that?

"Zack…." He didn't and just stood there, desperately trying not to become visibly upset. He could hear Zack's breathing again, and feel the SOLDIER's racing pulse against his shoulder. This was the man he'd looked up to for being so strong and sure of himself and yet here they were, Zack again holding onto Cloud as if he were a last lifeline.

He was looking at the floor, so Cloud couldn't see his face, but his friend began to speak in a low voice. "I want to protect them. Please tell me I'll be able to, Cloud…"

"I…don't think I can. But you're really…strong. If anyone can do it, you can." Cloud spoke the truth, once again, and this time he wasn't teasing. "I made this promise before, but I can do it again. I promise you, I'll become stronger. I'll join SOLDIER, with your help and I'll become stronger, so you don't have to be alone."

Where the hell was this stuff coming from, I sound like a melodrama…

He briefly wondered if Tifa and his mom would be alright with him promising someone else as well. Cloud hadn't forgotten, not for one second why he needed to be so strong, but it seemed the only way to get Zack to understand that he still had friends. It was only fitting to promise that to the man who had given him a second chance to redeem himself.

I'm not gonna be that little kid any longer, I told myself that.

Deep down his promise wasn't just to his friend, but to himself as well. To all of them.

Still, I hope she'll forgive me…

The grip on his shoulders tightened for a second before letting go, and Zack drew himself up, looking none worse for the wear, though Cloud thought he spotted a mysterious sheen in his eyes. "I'll…hold you to that. Don't let me down, okay?"

Cloud nodded, trying his best to smile to get his friend to in return. It sort of worked. "I won't. You can count on me."

"There's…really nothing I can say to make you stay, is there?" Zack asked, again running his fingers through his hair.

"You've tried like three times before, why would this time be any different?" It was a weak joke but Zack still laughed.

"Just…stay safe, okay? For everyone?"

"Got it." He nodded again, and this time Zack didn't do anything but wave at him and head off to wherever he was sleeping. Slightly surprised, but also sort of pleased, that Zack was just letting him go back this easily, he laid down on the dusty bed and just then registering how tired he was, immediately went to sleep.

The night passed calmly for everyone except Vincent Valentine. Though he had slept for these past twenty years locked in a coffin, he had trouble going back to that state now that he was fully awakened. The beasts that resided inside of him added their whispers to his consciousness, further driving him from the darkness whence he came.

Or…so it was described to him. His boots lit down silently on the wooden floor as he made his way through the house. Everyone else was asleep, so it mattered little how stealthy he was being, but by now, it was instinct.

Though they had not realized he was there, Vincent had heard every word of the conversation between the blonde boy and his friend, Zack, having not wished to leave the manor. Again, it had left a strange feeling in his heart. Perhaps it was because he had not been around humans for so long that he'd forgotten what companionship felt like.

No…long before that…I gave up my humanity when I became a Turk.

He stopped discreetly in the room leading down to the basement, sensing the boy, Cloud to be there. Turning his head slightly, Vincent noticed he had fallen half on the bed and was sleeping soundly. If what the others said had been true, this boy defeated the Lost Number that guarded his cage by himself.

A very impressive feat for a trooper.

Chaos began to whisper again as he drew closer to the sleeping figure, causing him to stop in his tracks.

What is it? He asked silently, demanding answers of the creature, but Chaos just faded away, refusing to speak.

You will see, foolish human. If you dare go to the reactor.

What was it about this boy? Vincent had been absolutely sure earlier Cloud had heard Chaos speak to him without any prompting, and now he had learned Hojo had been after him from the start. If he were up to his old tricks again…

Vincent did not count himself among the most compassionate of people, but it disturbed him to no end that this boy here might end up like him, tied to a table, cut open and twisted, all for the sake of science. No one deserved that fate.

He hesitated for just a moment, unsure of what to do, then gently shifted Cloud until he was all the way on the bed and pulled the cover over him, removing the sword so it wouldn't get in his way. Briefly, Vincent cast an eye on the book the boy clutched in his hands, resolving to later pry the information away from it.

Perhaps, Lucrecia, my debt is to save these new SOLDIERs from the war...

For now, he had work to do.

Cloud wished he had dreamed of the girl in the flowers that night, but she only showed up briefly. The rest of the night he fell in and out of sleep, dreaming he was being chased by the safe monster who was suddenly wearing a pair of glasses. When morning came he jolted upwards, throwing off his covers.

He stared in confusion, not having remembered even making it fully onto the bed, much less under a blanket. His sword was lying out on a table as well, Cloud not having put it there. Had Zack….he must have after I fell asleep.

Yawning, he pulled himself out of bed and strapped the sword in its harness again, feeling slightly empty without the other one. For a minute he was confused about having the SOLDIER uniform, until he remembered the events of yesterday. It all seemed like a lifetime ago to him; the monster, finding the Turk in the basement, his storybook…

Cloud suddenly turned back and snatched it up, afraid to let the book out of his sight as if it would grow legs and wander off, denying him answers. This was his only link to this place and possibly why Hojo would be interested in a nobody like him. Quietly walking out into the main area, he looked to see if anyone was awake. Not wanting to disturb Angeal or Zack, he snuck outside the mansion, looking possibly for something to eat.

He breathed deeply, feeling the cool air brush against his skin, calming him. He'd been tossing and turning all night, afraid of the nightmares Hojo created in his mind. He didn't know what sort of plan the madman had for him, but Cloud had sworn to not let him get close. Even if becoming SOLDIER meant…well being under his thumb.

Rubbing his eyes, he took off after the chocobos, who while wandering, immediately returned to the little trooper when he called. That's some great skill to have, chocobo whispering…

They all seemed fine, even Zack, though something out in the mountains seemed to have spooked them. Cloud could only hope it was some normal monster.

Normal. What has the world come to, me wishing for something normal to attack us…

"You sure this is a really good idea?" Zack asked his mentor as they trekked up the mountain. Angeal didn't answer for a moment, thinking it over.

"Any other way would be more difficult. You know how Sephiroth gets." He looked pointedly at the younger SOLDIER.

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Zack shook his head. "Still feel kinda bad for Cloud getting stuck there with him."

"He's a big kid. He can handle himself, yo," Reno said, walking up behind them.

It had originally been Angeal's idea, at least after Vincent explicitly told Sephiroth to stay away from the reactor. Knowing his friend would not be happy with the idea of someone ordering him around, he had woken Zack early to follow the former Turk up to the structure himself, alone. What he had not counted on was Reno guessing his plan and showing up out of the blue.

The red-head assured him that everything had been taken care of with the two regulars assigned to the mission, but Angeal didn't quite trust his judgement. There was little they could do about it now, though, except finish this mission quickly.

"Y'know, there was this girl back in town who kept askin' me if I'd seen a blonde-haired SOLDIER around. You think she coulda been talkin' about Cloud?" The Turk kept rambling and Angeal ignored him.

"Well Cloud did say he promised someone he'd return as a SOLDIER, so it makes sense." Luckily, Zack humored him instead.

"Ahh, a childhood sweetheart, I see." Reno smile grew wolfish, no doubt planning on teasing the trooper about it when he got back.

"Reno, don't be mean. The kid was really upset about it. He didn't want to even go back to Nibelheim."

"Still-"

"No, Reno." Zack sighed in exasperation, and Angeal couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Now you know how I feel when I'm trying to convince you to not do something, Zack," he said, earning him one of his student's famous puppy looks.

"I am nothing like him!"

"Says you." Angeal kept smiling and walked on. He could see up front of them the shadow of Vincent Valentine traveling soundlessly across the ground, something not even Sephiroth could hope to match.

Hearing Zack's characteristic protests-and a cutting remark from Reno-could only cheer him up a little as he stared up at the looming tower. A sense of wrongness perverted the reactor and its rather pristine surroundings. The metal twisted like a scar on the ground, and were it not for his friend's sake, Angeal would refuse to continue further.

The aching in his body and head grew worse, and he almost had to stop a couple times. The concerned eyes of his student were more than enough to spur him forwards but it could not wipe the whispering of a soft voice from his mind.

"There is something very wrong with this place…" he said.

"She lies inside there." Vincent said suddenly, drawing out his handgun. "The Calamity awaits."

Everyone was silent and unmoving as the red-cloaked man loaded his weapon, preparing himself for what was inside.

Cloud looked curiously at the ground where his chocobo had been scratching at. A few black feathers were scattered on the ground, and he almost mistook them for Zack's, but they were much too small. He stooped down and picked a couple of them up, running his fingers down the bristles. For one, they were too skinny and lightweight to be chocobo feathers, and the birds didn't normally shed unless they were molting, and it certainly wasn't that season.

Curious…He kept a few of them in his hand as he made his way back to the front. Luckily, there had been something for him to eat-Zack had always made sure of that-and a puddle of melted water to try and wash his face and hair out of any excess mud, so he was feeling much better.

That feeling faded when he heard the click of a gun being pointed at him. Cloud slowly held his hands up, practically jumping out of his skin.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" A voice came from behind him, but he didn't recognize it. This one sounded like it meant business, unlike Reno's trick and he nervously debated his chances of talking his way out of this.

Cloud didn't answer but slowly turned around, surprised to see another Shinra trooper with a green scarf, the rifle aimed straight at his chest. This must be one of those regulars assigned to the mission, crap!

"I um-I can explain! I'm not the enemy here!" Cloud protested, his hands still held up.

"Then why are you wearing a First's uniform? I don't recognize you from this mission," The trooper said, not budging an inch.

Zack I TOLD you it would get me in trouble!

"I'm not a SOLDIER first, I'm a trooper like you, my uniform was just ruined so I had to change. Sephiroth-the General knows I'm here!" Cloud didn't know what to say, if the others had established a cover story for them right now, but he was more concerned with not becoming a pincushion. At least Angeal wasn't here, that would ruin everything…

"A trooper? Name and squad number." The man ordered. He couldn't see any of his face past the helmet so Cloud didn't know if he was buying his story or not.

"Cloud Strife, sir, I'm with Squad 7. I was sent on the Modeoheim mission with SOLDIER First Zack Fair, and after getting separated, made our way here to Nibelheim." He held in his breath, hoping that was vague enough to satisfy him.

The gun lowered slightly, but did not completely so Cloud still held his hands up.

"Then what are you doing around here?" The trooper demanded. He opened his mouth to answer, but instead stepped back in shock when the General, impressive as ever, appeared behind the infantryman.

"Strife? What is going on?" Sephiroth asked, giving a significant look to Cloud's aggressor. The trooper jumped, just realizing he was there, the gun still trained on Cloud.

Never have I been so glad to see him…" Uh, sir, he thinks I'm a threat."

"…Stand down. Strife is with us." The General held up a hand and the trooper immediately backed away, looking almost apologetic. After a few quiet words to the trooper, who then stood by the gate, Sephiroth walked quickly over to Cloud, whose heartbeat got faster every step he took towards the boy.

"Where are the others?" The General demanded.

"I um-well I was about to look too…" Cloud tripped over his own tongue in his haste to answer him.

"Reno was gone before I woke up, and I suspect we will find the same for the others…" Something in Sephiroth's tone indicated he was upset, and Cloud unconsciously took a step backwards.

"I-maybe. I haven't seen them yet."

Sephiroth cast a long glance at him, causing his heart rate to go up again, before swiftly turning to the building, his hair brushing against Cloud as he did so. "We will see if you are right."

Cloud could only follow him into the mansion, wondering what had ticked him off.

As it turned out, Cloud was right. They had checked their room only to find Zack and Angeal were long gone, with a hastily scribbled note in their place. Vincent, it seemed, had vanished as well, for Cloud could no longer sense the man anywhere on the premises.

"What does it say?" The General was pacing around, his voice tightly wound up.

Cloud took a deep breath and read out loud. " 'To Cloud and Seph. Sorry we're just leaving you here in the mansion together, but something really wrong is in that reactor, and Vincent says neither of you should come, or something bad will happen to you. So the three of us are going to check out whatever is in there are report back to you. Stay put and don't burn anything down. Love, Zack.' "

Neither of them made a single noise but Cloud could feel Sephiroth's radiating annoyance from across the room.

"I guess…they did leave without us," he said slowly, testing the waters.

"So it would seem…" The General did not seem pleased, and that was putting it nicely.

Cloud didn't know if he should speak, since it was hard to not start stammering, but he was the only one around. The other trooper had elected to stay by the gate, obviously believing the ghost stories about the place.

"Well, do you, uh, really want to do what Hojo wants you to, sir?" He asked. Sephiroth looked like he hated the man, and Hojo had been the one to order him to the reactor.

"….I suppose not. However, I do not like being left out of discussions," The General said, gracefully sitting down on the bed.

"Yeah, it's kind of annoying, isn't it?" Cloud remarked, glaring at him, reminded of all the times Sephiroth himself had kicked him out. The silver-haired man looked up at him in actual surprise, and Cloud suddenly realized what he did.

"Ahh! I'm sorry, sir, it just sort of slipped out-" He covered his mouth with his hands before he could damn himself further, but Sephiroth was still looking at him. He could feel the heat rising on his face and Cloud wanted to melt into a yellow puddle on the floor and disappear.

"I suppose it is." There was a hint of actual amusement to the General's voice, and Cloud nearly bit his own tongue. Was he actually finding his remark funny?

He didn't say anything and just sighed, slouching back on the nightstand. The man he admired so much and Cloud just talked back to him.

Right now, however, the General had a conflicted expression on his face, which was curious. "I suppose I should explain my actions. Zack and Angeal are friends of mine and I was not expecting others to join us. I did not know your motivations or purpose."

"Y-you care about your friends, don't you? You wanted to protect them," Cloud said, the words just slipping out of his nervous lips. Having an actual conversation with this man….

Sephiroth looked up at him in surprise again, or at least, his version of surprise. Cloud held his hands up, trying to explain himself. "Well, you didn't trust us because we might take your friends away or uh…something. But I promise you I'm not. I can't speak for Reno, but he's not a bad person either."

His cat-like eyes flicked away, seeming to contemplate what the blond trooper just said.

"You don't have to admit it or anything." Okay, he really needed to shut up before the General used him for target practice.

Except Sephiroth was actually smiling slightly. "You know, you remind me of Genesis."

"I-what?" Cloud stared at the taller man. He didn't know anything about Sephiroth's friend other then him being a royal pain in the ass, but…

"Yes. Except…"

"Except?"

"Except nicer," Sephiroth said, his lips twitching with his own private joke.

I'm-I'm not really sure how to react to that, Cloud thought. Reminding the General of his old friend might be a good thing, but Genesis did not seem a very good role model. At the very least, Sephiroth looked like he was calming down. To be honest, he was rather annoyed with Zack and Angeal that they left him behind as well ALONE WITH THE GENERAL OF SOLDIER, but actually talking to the man and not seeing him behind a wall was a treat he was never expecting.

They both were quiet for a moment, so Cloud pulled out the storybook he found to make it less awkward. "I'm, uh, sure Zack and Angeal are just concerned for you. And Vincent. I think."

"Hmm." Sephiroth's slender fingers toyed with the hilt of his sword. "It's true I place stock in that Turk's words-I do not wish to give any more to that man."

Cloud's grip tightened on the books binding as his breath quickened. They were getting into dangerous territory here. "I'm sorry, I don't know why he's doing this."

"No need to apologize Strife, someone like you would not be important enough to know such things," He commented.

"Gee, thanks…" Cloud said.

"Do you want to be important to him?"

"Hell no! I don't want to end up like y-" Cloud gestured wildly, realizing what he was about to say, and then just gave up. "I'm just going to stop talking now."

The General did not seem too outwardly bothered. "I do not want you to end up like me either."

This time Cloud nearly dropped the book. Is he-he's concerned for me? LIke before? Not knowing what to say, the trooper just stayed quiet, hoping this awkward feeling would only good thing was that Sephiroth seemed to be just as bad at communication as he was.

I wonder what they are doing at the reactor….

After a few moments of tinkering, Vincent blew the control switch off the door, permanently opening it.

"You would think if we're coming here on a mission, they'd give us a way to open the thing," Zack grumbled. The retired Turk said nothing but instead, turned to examine the interior of the reactor.

"I'm guessin' the General has the key or somethin'." Reno was hanging back by the metal staircase, seemingly content to not go any further.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary to Vincent's enhanced eyes so he gestured slightly with his metal claw at the rest of the group. The other SOLDIER-Angeal-was not looking good. Signs of degrading aside, he seemed to be using his student for balance. Perhaps bringing the other Jenova-tainted SOLDIER was not a good idea, but there was little he could do about it for now.

The deep, barren voice beckoned him into the reactor, and Vincent stepped forward, making no noise. The inside looked pretty standard, with pods lining either side of the metal staircase leading to the core of the reactor. They were empty, as Vincent could sense nothing living inside them-rather, the presence was much deeper.

"Is feeling sick a normal reaction?" Zack came up behind the former Turk. He nodded slightly, but Angeal had already answered the question.

"Reactors often make…SOLDIERS injected with mako feel sick. Something to do with…the Planet, I believe." The large man let out a heavy breath, grasping the handrail for support.

Is he too, affected by Her?

"Angeal. Angeal, are you okay?!" Zack was at his side within seconds.

"I'm…something is affecting me." Angeal looked up, and Vincent spotted a flickering in his eyes. The degradation seemed to be getting worse as well; the grey was spreading.

"You should not go any further," Vincent said, still staring at the door leading to the core. "She lies in wait there, and you will only be a liability."

"She…?" Both SOLDIERs were looking at him, questioning.

"Jenova. The Calamity from the sky," He snarled, and at that name, Chaos jumped awake inside of him. It was starting to get hard to control him, despite the glowing stone embedded in his chest that seemed to suppress the creature.

"The thing that was used to create Sephiroth?" Zack said wildly. "That…thing is in there?!"

Vincent merely stared at him, unwilling to repeat himself.

"I can hear something…but if I go further, I don't think I will be of any use. I'll wait…"Angeal leaned heavily against the guardrail, gesturing Zack to travel further with Vincent. "Reno is outside. We can handle things…here."

It was clear he was in pain-it twisted through his face and his eyes, and Vincent knew the man did not have much time to live, with Jenova ravaging his body. Perhaps with the creature gone, we can end this curse, Lucrecia….

Unfortunately, from his decades-long nap, he did not have much ammo left for his gun. He would have to make this quick, or rely on their aid.

"We don't have much time," Vincent said, walking towards the door. "Are you coming?"

Zack did not look happy with these arrangements, but he would have to make do. Securing his grip on his sword, he joined Vincent by the door. "Let's go kill a thing."

The green light of the planet pulsed below, resonating with the stone buried inside him, and consequently, Chaos. The more they drew on, the worse the whispering got, and Vincent started getting outwardly affected.

"Are…you okay too?" Zack asked hesitantly, but Vincent held out a claw. He was not weakening like the other man. No, he was getting angrier….stronger.

Becoming a monster.

His eyes blazed a brighter red than they had ever been and Vincent smiled. "I am coming…"

He suddenly took off down the catwalk, his metal shoes clinking slightly on the surface. Ignoring Zack's shouts and attempts to keep up, he leapt at the door, bringing it down with a few inhuman melee attacks.

There she was. In the room, at the very end, was Jenova, or so the banner above Her head proclaimed. He raised Cerberus, pointed it directly at her, as she opened her eyes and let out a screech.

My son, my son where is my Son you are not my Son why are you HERE, SQUIRE OF OMEGA?

Zack again was shouting something, but Vincent could no longer hear anything other then Jenova's sickening voice, and his own demons. All of them rose at once, scraping and clamoring to be let out, but Chaos rose to the surface. The last thing he heard was an inhuman scream.

It was a very odd thing, talking to Strife on friendly terms. For one, the trooper had been very skittish of him from the start, though Sephiroth attributed that to the fact he did not trust the boy. However, even after he made sure to express that was no longer his intention, Cloud was still nervous, and Sephiroth could not understand why.

People had never been his strong point, something Angeal and Genesis had always taken great pains to tease him about. Strange then, that Strife was now reminding him of his old friend. Sephiroth watched him closely, and every time his gaze lingered on the boy for longer then a second, Cloud would flinch nervously and glance up at him, nearly dropping the book he was attempting to read. It seemed familiar somehow, and yet…

Ah. I remember…Many of his fans acted the same way, though in a far less cramped environment. Could Cloud actually hold an admiration for him? Or as most would call it, hero-worship him? It would certainly explain many things.

Despite him being annoyed by Angeal and Zack's sudden disappearance and the shock of finding out about his own personal history, he found himself inordinately fascinated by the once-ordinary blonde. Now that Sephiroth knew that Hojo was after the trooper-a thought that left a terrible taste in his mouth-he desperately needed to figure out why. Hojo would not spend his time on something useless, so why him? Why would this child need to get involved?

"What is in that book?" He asked. The first step, Cloud's connection to the strange volume he'd found in the mansion's hidden office. Per usual, Cloud looked up suddenly like a frightened chocobo and Sephiroth suppressed a flash of amusement.

"I…Well, like I said before, it's basically a bunch of children's stories and fairy tales." The boy's fingers ran down the cover as he got lost in thought, perhaps remembering his past. Sephiroth almost wanted to ask, having never had a family or a childhood to speak of, but it was not his place.

"I see…" Then why was it there?

Cloud it seemed, had been pondering the same thing. "I don't recognize the writing in the margins, but it might be my dad's. It keeps saying stuff about the Cetra, or…Ancients, I guess they are called."

"What do fairy tales have to do with the Cetra?" Sephiroth asked.

The trooper sighed. "I don't know…my dad was always fascinated with them and their stories, maybe a bit too much. And my mom would read me these stories almost every night…"

Sephiroth said nothing, content to let the boy keep talking, since he seemed to be growing more comfortable.

"He always said that the Cetra were close to the Planet and thats how they…knew things. Sometimes things that would happen, or stuff about the Planet no one else would know," Cloud said. "Like it resonated with them or something. And according to this book, the stories had something to do with that. Like a recording of their knowledge. It's weird."

Cloud's left hand shifted to rub at his right arm unconsciously, and Sephiroth's keen eyes spotted a small red materia stone. What exactly…

"Then would it be possib-" The General was cut off by the book suddenly dropping out of the troopers hands, landing with a thud. Cloud's eyes had gone wide, his pupils dilated. Sephiroth quickly stood up and walked over to him, but he did not react. In fact, it appeared as though Cloud no longer registered his presence.

"Strife? Strife, are you okay?" He leaned down slightly to the shorter boy, but still, nothing happened. It was only then he began to notice a strange glowing light creep into Cloud's eyes. It was much like the eyes of a SOLDIER, except brighter and Strife had not had any mako injections-

"Cloud, what is wrong?" Keeping one hand on Masamune, he reached the other out to the trooper, stopping short when he spoke.

"Jenova." The voice was flat.

"What is going on? Strife, answer me!" He ordered, but Cloud's hand suddenly shot out and latched onto Sephiroth's wrist.

"She awakens and she will kill us all. The Calamity is calling for you…" The trooper's head slowly twisted until he was staring directly at the General. He did not panic-it was not befitting of one such as him-but Cloud's pupils were almost completely overwhelmed by blue. "Jenova's Cradle will then die by my hand."

Sephiroth attempted to free himself of the trooper's grip, but was completely surprised by his immovable hand. He couldn't make him let go. A sharp pain started growing in the side of his head, making his vision blurry.

What is this? I am the General, I cannot afford such weakness. I cannot be affected by-and yet…

"But I can't. I was not born for that purpose!" Cloud's voice grew more desperate as the grip tightened, and it sounded as though multiple people were talking at once. "Jenova must die! You must not listen to Her! Don't listen to…don't…Chaos is….She is awake."

As soon as the last line was spoken the pain in Sephiroth's head grew to nearly unbearable, but just as sudden as it came, it was gone. After his vision cleared, he looked down to see Strife collapsed on the floor. Kneeling on the ground as he was from his sudden headache, he reached down and checked to boy's pulse, which seemed to be normal. He was alive, but merely unconscious.

Sephiroth reached a hand up to his own face, a sick feeling creeping through his mind. He had found out he was a monster from Vincent and this could only be proof of that.

What is going on here…?

Zack didn't know what the hell was happening at all, but it was nothing good. One minute they were heading to the reactor, and then Angeal nearly collapsed, and now the mysterious Turk was looking rather mad. As in crazy mad.

All of a sudden a shriek came from out of nowhere and Zack had to cover his ears, not even noticing that disgusting thing's eyes opening. Vincent's body suddenly sprouted wings and the rest of him blurred, reforming itself.

What was left did not look human or friendly at all. The creature had a giant red headdress, some of the strands slipping over its eyes like the Turk's headband, and had Vincent's strange golden boots and arm tacked on. The most disturbing part however, was the face for it looked exactly like Vincent Valentine, minus the pale skin.

"What the hell?" Zack shouted at the thing, which took very little notice of him. Instead, it unfurled its wings, and flew directly at the Jenova creature, raising the Turk's decorated handgun to fire. He only got off a few shots before the chamber broke, releasing a strange black fluid and another unearthly wail. Zack stumbled against the side of the room, the sound driving needles into his skull.

Dammit, I need to focus! I need to kill that thing! Whatever Vincent had turned into, it looked like they had the same goal, so Zack just took it. Drawing his sword, he started advancing just as the creature turned monstrous.

He wasn't sure if the thing had a head, but it certainly had a large and bulbous red body with tentacles coming out of it. The Vincent creature paid the transformation no mind, merely raising its gun again and firing dead center. The Jenova monster, whatever it was, let out a scream and a laser shot out from it's mouth almost directly at Zack. Diving back out of the way, it hit the catwalk and blew a hole in the wall instead, partly destroying it.

"Woah!" Zack clung to the metal as the catwalk swayed dangerously. "That mako does not look friendly!"

Oh god, what is that thing even…The creature drew back, obviously preparing itself for another attack but the red-winged creature kicked it in the head. "The calamity from the skies has no place in this world!"

That was the first time the thing Vincent turned into spoke and even the voice sounded exactly the same. He briefly wondered what was even going on before leaping over another magic attack and slashing at the massive red body.

Jenova screamed and he stumbled again. God, fighting this thing was terrible when she could affect him so much…his only boon was Vincent's transformation, who just seemed to get more enraged the more she was injured. The crack of the gun went off again burying a few more bullets into the monsters flesh before he flew away.

Something told Zack materia would work here, so he merely kept at it with his sword. The Buster Sword would've been far more useful for breaking through the monster's thick hide, but there was no way he was dragging Angeal into this. He deflected a tentacle to the ground and ran his sword up it, slicing it in half.

Out of nowhere, something rose up from the ground and what seemed like a giant rock attempted to crush Jenova from below. Zack dodged out of the way, next to Vincent's creature, who was glowing blue. Obviously, his attack…

It did massive damage, for after the rocks stopped falling and the building stopped shaking, he saw that Jenova was beginning to lose her form. "Hey, let's finish this!"

The thing-Vincent-merely nodded, and they both rushed with their final attack. Zack broke into limit break and threw Blade Beam directly at her, while Vincent fired off his final shot. Both blows tore through her flesh, ripping the beast apart until there was nothing but scattered remains. He heard another resounding scream, but this time it seemed farther away then before.

Zack however was concerned with his monster friend, who seemed to be losing his shape. The ornate gun clattered to the ground and the creature stumbled forward, his form blurring again. Zack caught him and in a few seconds he was holding an exhausted Vincent Valentine.

"Hey, you okay, man?" He said quietly, helping him stand up again. The strange Turk said nothing, casting only the briefest of glances on the SOLDIER. The golden arm reached down to retrieve his gun.

"Chaos…was again too strong. I am in control now. He can hear Her voice…." Vincent said, standing up again.

"Her? You mean that thing? Jenova?" the SOLDIER asked him. Vincent merely nodded, his eyes widening as he looked past Zack's shoulder.

Zack whirled around and he saw why the Turk was so upset. Jenova was gone.

He had tried calling Cloud multiple times, but the trooper still refused to wake up. Sephiroth had thought the pain in his head had subsided, but instead it was being replaced by an almost unbearable urge to run straight to the reactor. On top of that, he seemed to be imagining voices…

Vincent had told him about his origins, how Jenova was not, in fact his mother, how he was just as human as his other friends. How it was Hojo's fault for manipulating him and wanting to twist him into a monster, but now he was even beginning to doubt those words.

Sephiroth did not feel human at all, as much as he was grateful for Vincent's words to say otherwise, and this incident was only proving it so. Here he was, the great General, hearing voices and longing to go meet the creature who had partly created him.

No. Terrible things would happen then, Vincent had said, and he no longer desired to push his comrades in danger, nor turn himself into the killing machine Hojo wanted. He attempted to focus on the small trooper in the room instead of his own pain in a futile attempt at distraction, but the boy remained sleeping.

What had come over him, he did not know, but the boy spoke of Jenova and a thing called Chaos as if he knew them, which was not possible.

I will kill them all…all the ones who cause me suffering…A sharp scream burrowed through his head again and the pain of it brought him to his knees, almost on top of Cloud.

"She is calling me…."His fingers twisted around strands of his hair and he could not see could not think it was just her she called him and she wanted him to return she wanted him to destroy everything could you not see how terrible the humans are to you just kill them all my Son, you are stronger then they will ever be, claim your birthright-

Suddenly, he felt a hand that wasn't his own against his face, and slowly opened his eyes. Cloud was staring straight at him, smiling gently. His eyes were still covered in blue, but it was not an evil light: rather, it was gentle, like an embrace from the Planet.

"It's okay…..She cannot harm you while I exist. You are not Her son…" he whispered. Sephiroth stared at the trooper, who was speaking again with a voice that was not his own.

"Do not listen to Her. Her voice is full of lies. Please, do not…you deserve life." Cloud's hand was shaking, whether from strain or emotion, he did not know, but Sephiroth felt as though he was listening to something far older then the trooper.

"Who…no, what are you?" he asked, reaching up to break away from the touch, but stopping short when Cloud smiled again.

"I am hope reborn. I will save you, I promise….everyone…" Cloud closed his eyes as final time and slumped to the floor, Sephiroth catching him just in time to set him gently down.

What just…happened? But no matter how long and hard he stared at the trooper, he just lay there, sleeping peacefully.

The first thing Cloud noticed when he woke up was that he was on the ground, and Sephiroth was sitting next to him.

"I…what?" He mumbled, then realized his situation and sat up quickly, nearly hitting his head on Sephiroth's sword.

"General! I'm-what happened?" He looked around, confused. There didn't seem to be aftermath of a battle or anything that had been disturbed. The last thing he remembered was looking at his storybook, and then the world grew all cold and green…

He looked over at the General who was staring back. Not even out of curiosity but just staring at him. "Did…something…happen?"

"I don't know…." Sephiroth looked just as confused as Cloud felt, which was not helping his sense that he had done something terribly wrong. Sephiroth brought a hand up to his own face, as if checking to see if something was still there. "You started acting oddly, froze in place, and then collapsed. I checked to see if you were okay, and then you started speaking to me. Are you telling me you have no memory of this?"

"What? No." Cloud shook his head vigorously. "All I remember is seeing a green light and someone shouting at me from really far away."

"This is concerning," Sephiroth said, continuing to stare directly at him.

"What exactly did I say, sir?" Cloud asked, curious as to what actually unnerved the near-immovable General.

"You…spoke of Jenova and how you would…save me." The way Sephiroth said the words made him feel incredibly weird.

"Me? Save you?! I said that?" But he was just a trooper! A trooper who apparently liked to randomly pass out at important events. The only consolation was that Sephiroth looked about as uncomfortable as Cloud felt about this event. "I'm sorry, I don't know what happened…"

Sephiroth opened his mouth, presumably to say something in reply, when a very different voice cut across the room.

"Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess."

Cloud whirled around, hoping to see possibly Zack or Angeal or even Reno standing there but instead, it was someone he'd never expected to meet face to face.

"Hello old friend. How are you today?"

It was Genesis.


	11. Loveless, Act 1

"Crap, where did she go?" Zack shouted, looking wildly back at the entrance. Vincent said nothing but practically flew out of the room.  _He seemed to recover from being a monster pretty well….._

Wait, Angeal was there and he couldn't let him be in danger! Zack sped down the catwalk, practically leaping down past the stairs and the mako pods to find his mentor sprawled out on the floor, with Valentine standing next to him.

"He still holds Jenova's taint, but She is not here…." The retired Turk leveled his bright red gaze at the entrance of the reactor. Zack however, kneeled down to check on Angeal, worried. He was breathing steadily, but seemed to be in pain, either from exertion and the degradation. Or possibly the creepy monster that just tore through here.

"Angeal, Angeal are you okay? Wake up!" Zack shook the older man frantically, but he didn't respond right away.

"Angeal!" He was tempted to hit the man to stun him awake, but luckily his eyes opened before Zack could do that.

"Zack, I…."

"Oh thank the Goddess you're okay…" Zack took a deep breath to calm himself down. Angeal didn't seem like he was dying but he'd had far too many close encounters to not be paranoid. His mentor didn't answer but merely started pulling himself up. The younger SOLDIER eagerly bounced over to help him, but Angeal seemed to be ignoring him…again?

"Where is she?" Angeal directed the question at Vincent, who had been standing there, almost stock still.

"She is gone. I cannot sense Her, but She cannot leave the area. She cannot reach the manor." Vincent spoke softly. Zack looked between the two, thoroughly confused. Could both of them sense something he couldn't?

"Um guys? Want to explain what's going on?" He asked.

"Jenova," was Vincent's curt reply before he again took off and vanished.

"I'm sorry, Zack, but we can't explain things right now. We need to stop Jenova from getting away," Angeal said, wincing as he walked forward and drew his sword.

He was right, there was no time and they needed to keep it away from Sephiroth, but still… _Man, Angeal, I hope you can make it through this…_

The two of them ran down the stairwell of the reactor to find Vincent at the bottom, kneeling over Reno's prone body. It seemed that whatever had attacked Angeal had blown straight past the Turk too. Zack stepped forward, but the possessed Turk waved him off.

"He is fine." Vincent moved the boy until he was sitting against the side of the stairwell. "We need to leave him here. I suspect monsters won't be coming near this place for a very long time."

"We're just going to leave him here? Without any way to defend himself?!" Zack said, gesturing at the unconscious red-head, who had blood dripping down the left side of his face.

"He is a Turk, he will understand. And he will be fine." Vincent was standing again, looking extremely agitated. " _We need to get moving, now."_

Zack raised no further protests at the sound of Vincent's voice, though he was still concerned about Reno. If the other Turk was right, he'd be waking up in a few minutes and following them down. Hopefully.

"Zack!" Angeal gestured him to come along, and reluctantly, he did.

_Stay safe, everyone._

* * *

Cloud was frozen in his spot, never once taking his eyes off the red-coated man. How exactly had Genesis made it here? And why? Looking at the black wing sprouting out of the man's right shoulder, he recalled the feathers he'd found on the ground by the chocobos.  _So they were his…._

Luckily for Cloud, Genesis completely ignored him and instead focused on the General. " So the hero returns…"

"What are you doing here, Genesis?" Cloud hadn't even heard Sephiroth take Masamune out of its sheath and yet there it was, in his hand. He slowly backed out of the way of the six foot blade, not wanting to get accidentally eviscerated.

Genesis had pulled out a little red book before speaking. "…We seek it thus, and take to the sky. Ripples form on the water's surface…" He leveled his gaze at Sephiroth, "the wandering soul knows no rest."

"Loveless. Act one." The General spoke in a flat voice. "Will you ever stop quoting that drivel to me?"

"And yet you have that very passage memorized."

"How could I not, when you've pounded it into my head so many times?" Sephiroth said, tapping a finger on his temple.

Cloud suspected these two had this conversation before, but in a much friendlier manner. Now the General merely looked saddened by the state his friend was in. Genesis looked no worse then he did in the reactor and yet seeing him close up, Cloud could see all the signs of degradation; the greying hair and jacket, the feathers slowly shedding on the floor. The man was dying, just like Angeal.

Genesis let out a short laugh, putting his book away. "The three friends meet here again, isn't it ironic? The question still remains, which one of us is the hero?"

"That does not matter to me." Sephiroth raised Masamune.

"So a fight it is? Is this how you always treat precious friends? I don't see you attacking good old Angeal, now do I?" Genesis smiled mirthlessly, raising his own sword.

_Wait, I thought they were friends! Why are they fighting?_

"Angeal didn't attack Shinra HQ," Sephiroth shot back. Cloud looked around desperately for something to help. All there was was his storybook and a broken piece of piping in reach, and he did not have near enough strength to match Angeal…

"I thought you hated Shinra just as much as I did, Sephiroth. I had to sit through all your rants on what Hojo did almost every day," Genesis said. Both of them looked ready to snap at any moment.

"I do, but I am the General. I cannot just abandon my post as you did."

"You could have come with us!"

" _You_ never told me."

This seemed like a spat between old comrades who'd had a falling out and Cloud didn't have nearly enough information to pass judgement, but he was tired of everyone fighting each other. As terrified of Genesis as he was, Cloud would have to do  _something_.

And that something happened to be an incredibly dumb idea.

"Sorry, Sephiroth, I had things to do. Like I still do now. You'll have to take a raincheck. Like I told the puppy you sent after me, if the world despises me so, I will just drag it down with me!" With that Genesis jumped back slightly, raising his hand to swing his sword down.

_Shit, it's now or never! If they start attacking I can't react fast enough!_

Cloud rushed forward, having grabbed the pipe, and drew his sword out of its sheath. Both Genesis and Sephiroth had readied their own swords and he leapt between them, deflecting Genesis with the pipe and the General with his blade.

The strength of the two blows nearly made Cloud buckle over, but after a stumble he drew himself upwards, Genesis's sword inches from the back of his head. He'd counted on at least Sephiroth realizing what he was doing and not break his right arm, but it still shot pain down his muscles.

"Will. You. Two. STOP?!" Cloud shouted, attempting to twist the blades away from him.  _I really need to ask Zack how to properly guard, this is ridiculous!_

Sephiroth let go immediately, but Genesis only backed up in surprise.

"Who the hell are you?" The red-coated man asked but Cloud didn't deign to answer him right away. The pipe he used to block him clattered to the floor and his sword was chipped slightly, but Cloud didn't care.

"Soon-to-be SOLDIER cadet Cloud Strife. I'm a friend of Zack's and Angeal's." Him mentioning that name got the reaction he wanted, and Genesis immediately narrowed his eyes.

"Cloud, do you even know what you're doing?!" Sephiroth was standing behind him and Cloud didn't know if his expression was one of anger or disbelief.

"No I don't. Which is why I'm doing it." Cloud turned back to Genesis, who was still staring at him like he'd grown a second head.

"Just a cadet? Then how…." Genesis didn't get to finish his sentence as Cloud pointed the notched sword at him.

"I thought you two were supposed to be friends!" This was feeling very, very familiar. In fact, almost the exact same way it felt standing up to Angeal for Zack, only that man had been far less volatile. He knew Genesis had been the one to attack headquarters and cause chaos in Wutai but this was different. This was Sephiroth.

_How would I feel if that was Zack coming at me?_

Okay, that comparison really didn't work.

"Were being the key word here. The hero is always in need of an audience." Genesis drew back at least, but didn't seem to be calming down. Neither was Sephiroth for that matter. He expected the General to be angry, but he was merely staring at the red-cloaked man with something that could only be described as-concern?

"Genesis…"

"I wanted to stop in and say hello on my search. Glad to see you still remember me, Sephiroth." He set his sword against the floor, almost as if ready to strike. "However, my time is wasted here, I see."

Cloud didn't know what was making him angry, but the man he admired pretty much all his life was finally opening up to him, and Genesis had ruined everything.  _He_ was the one causing pain.

"He actually cares about you, you idiot. You're acting like a child!" It didn't help this man had the same sort of annoying aura Reno did that just  _made_ you want to fight them.

Of course, that proved to be a very bad thing to say. Genesis whirled, pulling out a gun and shooting after a moments hesitation. Something hit Cloud right in the shoulder and he got knocked back onto the ground, too stunned to actually do anything.

"Out of my way, kid." He barely heard Genesis's voice before there was a whirl of blades and the sound of clashing metal as Sephiroth deflected the fight away from the trooper.  _No, stop fighting! I told you to stop!_

Again, he had the sense of something very bad could happen but that wasn't just it. Cloud had seen a fraction of what he could accomplish and it boiled down to protecting his friends. All of them. He'd made the promise, once, twice, and he knew he couldn't let them down now.

The pain didn't even register as he scrambled up again, hopped up on that strange energy from before, and he saw Genesis and Sephiroth attempting to fight. They all realized one thing-this room was too small. He stayed low, nearly being beheaded by a swipe from Sephiroth's sword, as the red-coated man fled out to the main foyer. Cloud was briefly wondering if the trooper outside was okay and hoped that he'd fled back to Nibelheim, but that wasn't the highest on his priorities.

The pain started growing in his bullet wound, but again, that wasn't important. He chased after the General and his friend but they had already exited the building. Cloud kept racing after them, practically leaping out of the building when all of a sudden he sensed Vincent again. He nearly collided head-on with the fence as he brought himself to a stop.

_What is it? Why is he coming back so fast?_

Something felt wrong again, similar to the feeling he had recently-and all his life, really-that a terrible event was about to take place, and he started shouting Sephiroth's name. As he caught up to them, Genesis and the General were still fighting, the shorter man flying through the air, but his eyes were not focused on them. Rather, they were on the mountain pass, where a few extremely nasty and mutated monsters were rushing down from.

_Crap, they aren't gonna budge, are they…._ His shoulder was burning slightly, but luckily it was the left one. He had his summon materia and the sword, but even after sleep, Cloud knew he wouldn't be able to use magic.

The fastest of the monsters had broken into the valley and the trooper readied his sword, knowing he'd have to protect Sephiroth and Genesis' fight, and most importantly, the village. However, before it could even get in range, there was a red flash and the monster was kicked back by Vincent Valentine.

"What's going on?!" He shouted at the retired Turk.

"I could ask you the same thing," he growled as another blow from his gauntlet brought the creature down for good.

"I don't know. Genesis just showed up and that happened." He pointed at the two SOLDIERs still fighting. Vincent cast a quick look at them, and then at Cloud-more specifically, his gunshot wound.

"You expect to hold these off with that?" He asked.

"I can't even feel it. Besides, I have to protect the village," Cloud said.

Vincent merely said nothing and turned back to the mountains where the rest of the monsters were catching up. Cloud was about to ask where Zack and Angeal were when he saw the latter fly out of the sky practically on top of one of the monsters.  _They must have chased them all the way down…_

One of the smaller ones like the one Vincent killed leapt at him, and he quickly sidestepped. Up close, he could see the beast was clearly mutated, similar to some of the copies Zack had described-and the ones in Modeoheim- except these were wilder and less controlled. It was more of a blob of things badly cobbled together.

_No, scratch that._ He rolled out of the way of another attack, knowing he wouldn't be able to block.  _A blob of things that wants to eat me._

He stabbed somewhere where he thought its head was and managed to mostly kill it. Looking up, he was surprised that Sephiroth and Genesis had stopped fighting and were actually teaming up against one of the larger ones.

Zack had also popped out of nowhere next to him and Angeal was still in the skies.  _Thank God that trooper isn't here but…where is Reno?_

There was a roar behind him and a large wolf like creature leaped past Cloud.

"Holy Goddess!" He yelled and tried to strike it with his sword, but a shout from Zack stopped him in his tracks.

"Cloud, NO! THAT'S VINCENT!" His blade shuddered to a halt inches away but the blueish wolf-beast paid no notice, merely started ripping through another monster.

"What?" He stared at Zack, dumbfounded.

"No time to explain. But he's on our side, I promise!" Zack shouted frantically before running off again.

The battle raged on in complete and utter chaos; Cloud didn't even know how many monsters there were, but it really didn't matter, since they were all extraordinarily hard to kill. The only one who could seem to land a surefire finishing blow was Vincent and that was mostly because he was a monster himself. Now that Zack had pointed it out he could faintly sense the Turk inside the beast, but he blamed his mistake on the chaos around him.

With four SOLDIER first classes fighting at once, and of course, a highly trained Turk, it wasn't that Cloud was worried they would lose; he was worried that all the smaller monsters he stabbed kept getting up again.

It did give him a lot of good practice at dodging blows at last minute.

He swung his sword around and buried it in the head of the final weird couerl replica, using his body weight to drive the blow home. Looking up, Cloud could see Vincent finishing off his prey, the lines of the wolf thing- ** _the Galian Beast!-_** blurring. The trooper turned his head to see if any of the monsters had made it past to Nibelheim, but the village seemed untouched. In fact, they were only going after the SOLDIERS, the stench of faint decay clinging to their skin.

A flash of a sword, and Masamune cut through a a large beast's arm, toppling it from its charge on Cloud. Everything seemed to be wrapping to a close, though Angeal was still weaving in and out of the air and dropping down on a monster from above to give a solid blow straight to the snout.

_Did he just punch a lion in the face?!_

Cloud shook himself. He kept getting horribly distracted in the middle of battle and it wouldn't do for someone like him. Instead, he joined Zack in making sure the monsters were really dead.

"Oh wow….that was some hard work…." The young SOLDIER buried the point of his broadsword in the ground while attempting to catch his breath.

"Zack, what the hell are these? These aren't normal monsters!" Cloud demanded. Did this have something to do with him passing out and hearing those voices?

"Yeah they aren't, I think this is all Jenova's fault….she must've made those monsters to keep us busy while she escaped…"

"Escaped? So she  _was_ in the reactor?" If that had really been that strange creature, then that would explain Sephiroth acting oddly, and that Vincent was right.

"Yeah…it was terrible…wait, Cloud are you okay?" Zack had noticed the blood running down Cloud's bare shoulder.

"I'm fine, it's just a gunsh-" Cloud saw the beast careening wildly around behind his friend and knew it was only a matter of time before they were in range as well. Forcing his injured arm to move, Cloud grabbed Zack's broadsword with both hands, ripping it out of the earth. Imitating the way he'd seen Zack and Angeal wield it countless times, he spun around on his heel and took a running leap at the side of the injured monster. He didn't have enough strength to cleave straight through its flesh like any of the SOLDIERs, so it go stuck halfway. Knowing that would probably happen, he drew his other sword and and like against the safe creature, stabbed it directly in the head. It let out a horrid shriek and fell down, but he clung to the swords until it fell completely still.

_Yeah…there's no way I'm getting those out of there._ It had taken a lot of his strength to just stab the thing in the skull.

Turning around, he saw the rest of the battle had clearly ended, with the corpses disappearing all around the SOLDIER firsts, and Sephiroth standing, as pristine as ever. Zack was still the closest to him, his eyes bugged out at Cloud's sudden burst of strength.

"Holy. What. The. HELL?!" The young SOLDIER ran up to the sword then stared back at the trooper. Then back at the sword.

"Will you stop being so surprised?!" Cloud asked, annoyed. This was the second time he'd gotten that reaction and while it felt great, it was also kind of bothering. "I didn't do anything that special."

Except he secretly hoped that Sephiroth did see him do that because he maybe sort of wanted the General to acknowledge the skill he had.

"Wow, now I  _really_ wish I'd seen that fight! Cloud, I didn't know you could use a sword that well, especially a broadsword!" Zack was jumping around like a little kid on a holiday. "Is that what you did against that safe thing?"

"Um, sort of? I just….did what I felt was okay. Like I said."

"I KNEW I saw something in you! You got some natural talent with this sword, spiky!" Zack crowed and ripped both blades out of the fading monster. Cloud's heart jumped at that statement. He knew he'd been getting better ever since he'd arrived in this mansion, but to hear Zack himself say it was the best part. He glanced again back at Sephiroth who merely nodded slightly in his direction. A warm feeling spread over his face as the General recognized him. It was Cloud's dream come true, and since Zack promised to get him into SOLDIER he could finally fulfill his promises. The trooper felt giddy enough inside to wash the threat of Hojo away.

However, his gunshot wound brought him quickly back to reality as it shot pain straight down his arm, causing him to stumble.

"Ow," he said, a bit late, holding his hand over the wound to try and stop some of the blood.

"Cloud! You did all of that with  _that?_ " Zack was on him in less then a moment, praise forgotten. The trooper winced as he got sat down and Zack started poking around at the wound. "What happened here? This looks like a bullet!"

"Genesis. He shot me." Cloud said, suddenly looking up again. He'd forgotten that the red-coated man was here as well, but when he scanned the area, there was not a single trace of him. Sephiroth seemed to be searching as well, even going up to Angeal and demand that he look through the skies.

"Genesis did this? What the hell prompted that? Ugh, the bullet's still stuck in there, but you're probably lucky, it doesn't bleed as much like that," Zack muttered as he kept messing with the wound, earning a startled yelp from Cloud.

"Ow! Careful! I mean, I did call him an idiot to his face. So I was kind of asking for it." Not even getting shot was going to ruin the trooper's mood right now.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Zack said, drawing out a knife. He knew he should've been grateful that the bullet managed to get lodged in there at a weird angle, but that wasn't going to make it hurt any less. "Sorry Cloud, but I've got a cure materia. I can heal you right up."

"It's okay, I got a piece of wood stuck in my leg when I was younger." He winced and turned his head away when Zack dug in.

"Stop changing the subject. What possessed you to stand up to Genesis like that? Large monsters are one thing, but this is….Genesis!" Zack would've probably waved the knife at him had it not been currently buried in his wound. He closed his eyes, digging his nails as far into his gloves as he could.

"I just didn't want them fighting anymore."

"Who?"

"Sephiroth and Genesis. They were friends, weren't they?"

"Yeah." A final flick of the blade and the bullet was out. "Got it!" Zack held up the bloody piece of metal to Cloud. "Want a war souvenir?"

He just shook his head, and Zack grinned, tossing it over his shoulder. "Suit yourself."

The SOLDIER's mood, however, became much more serious after he pulled out the Cure materia. "Sephiroth and Genesis were once close, but I think they grew apart. It was always something to do with Genesis wanting to be the hero, but well…." Zack went silent as he cast the spell and the green light eagerly jumped from the materia to his skin, soothing the pain and closing the wound. Cloud let out a breath, thanking the stone silently for being so willing to help. "Anyway, I'm glad you tried to stop them, but don't keep risking your life protecting people, okay?"

"I….okay," Cloud muttered. It was complicated.

"You're mostly healed, but I'd suggest taking it easy with that arm for a couple of days. Got it?" Zack pointed a no nonsense finger at Cloud, getting off the ground. The trooper just ignored him and his warning, looking around to see Angeal and Sephiroth. Angeal was resting, sitting back against his Buster Sword much as Cloud was doing, but the General was staring at the sky, something clutched in his left hand.

_Wait…where are…._

"Zack!" He scrambled upwards. "Where's Reno?"

Vincent he figured could handle himself and mysteriously vanished all the time anyway, but for the red-head to not be present during exciting events was nearly unthinkable.

"We had to leave him up by the reactor, since he got knocked out by Jenova as she escaped." Zack turned back, handing Cloud his sword, which was now also bent from exertion. "Wow. Okay, when we start training I think I'm just gonna give you a broadsword. Everything else you use seems to break."

Secretly, Cloud was excited at that prospect; despite his liking for those double blades, the broadsword had felt far more natural in his hands. No one messed with someone with a huge sword.

More pressing though, was his new-found partner…person. Whatever he and Reno had. Cloud hated to admit it, but he was kind of worried for the Turk, knowing the mountains and the monsters here, and the fact the red-head was at the very least unconscious when the others left him.

_Then again, it's Reno. I have a feeling he'll pull through._

Vincent appeared again suddenly, but the trooper, having regained control over his sixth sense, knew he was coming.

"You missed one." He spoke in his raspy voice.

Angeal immediately stood up and faced him, despite his fatigued appearance, as did Cloud. "Where is it?"

Vincent however, shook his head slightly. "It has already been taken care of."

They all stared at him in confusion until said monster barreled down the path. Zack muttered something, his sword at the ready, until they all realized the beast was mortally wounded. It looked like it used to be some form of wolf, but had grown appendages and a weird ugly eyeball head, like something out of a horror movie.

It was stumbling and Cloud could see a bunch of scorch marks all over the creature, as well as several bleeding wounds. The rest of the group stared it down, even if it was on its last legs, until there was a rustling and quite suddenly Reno dropped down in front of them.

"What the-!" The trooper was glad he wasn't the only one who had jumped-Reno looked like he'd been put through a shredder, with the large angry red lines across his forehead and lower face.

"Your best plan was t' leave me behind in a place like that?" The red-head said angrily, completely ignoring the near-dead monster behind him.

"We figured you would be fine," Sephiroth said calmly. "Are you not a Turk?"

Reno just gave the General his best glare. "The least you coulda done was warn me I'd have to clean up after you guys."

_Wait…Reno did…..that?_ Cloud's eyes slid over to the scorched monster that was attempting to attack the Turk a final time. Without missing a beat, Reno pulled out his gun, aimed and fired directly at the eyeball, finally killing the thing. His eyes never once left Cloud's face.

There was a scary look in the Turk's eyes. They no longer held the mischievous light that he'd become so renowned for but were now lined with a darkness only seen in a predator. He'd forgotten how easily this boy who was the same age as him had been specially trained to be an assassin. How easily he could kill on an order.

And yet, in the space of five seconds, Reno's expression softened and grew completely back to normal, bouncing down to his blond friend. "Look's like you guys had all the fun without me."

Still caught off guard by the Turk's transformation and his taking down the beast, Cloud shoved him away. "I thought you said you had terrible aim!"

"Wrong!" Reno held up a finger. "I have terrible aim. As a  _Turk._ There's a difference."

"You know what? Fuck you, that's what." Cloud's admiration and fear of the red-head deflated all in one instant.

"Language, language, my dear friend." Reno waved a finger at him, and he resisted the urge to break it off.

"I wish that monster had eaten you, it would've saved us all a lot of trouble," Cloud growled back, before a pair of large arms got them both into a headlock.

"Behave, both of you," Zack said, nearly lifting Cloud off the ground. "We're in this together."

Cloud could hear Reno's muffled protests on the other side of the SOLDIER. "Yeah I got it, just tell him to stop being an idiot."

"Well, glad you're makin' friends at least." Zack let go with a ruffle of his hair and a slight push to the Turk.

"Yeah, like you could call that bastard a friend…" Cloud grumbled, then yelped when Reno hit him over the back of the head.

"I heard that, yo!"

Cloud really didn't want to fight with the Turk, he wanted to ask everyone else what was going on, so he ignored the red-head's antics.

"Why did Vincent turn into that monster?" He asked Zack, seeing how Sephiroth and Angeal were having a moment.

"Hojo." Of course Vincent was right behind him. As he spoke, Cloud turned around to get a good look at him. The strange man did not appear any different, except perhaps more tired. Otherwise, for having turned into a wolf, he seemed fine.

"Your…experiment?" The trooper guessed, and the deadly light in Vincent's gaze answered that question.

_Perhaps that's the reason he could survive so long in a coffin like that._

"But what about Chaos? I mean he can ta-" Cloud's voice trailed off when he noticed both Reno and Zack staring oddly at him. "What?"

"Vincent mentioned Chaos when we were fighting Jenova in the reactor. How did you know that?" Zack suddenly asked.

"Uh, I talked to Vincent before?" He didn't quite know how either, but he had heard the creature and the retired Turk  _had_ mentioned his name.

Zack sort of looked to be buying it, but it was hard to tell with Reno. Cloud quickly changed the subject before either of them could jump on him again. "You said you fought Jenova?"

"Yeah. She turned out to be in the reactor, but turned into a monster. Me and Vincent-" the SOLDIER gestured to the Turk, who had fallen silent-"took her on at the core of the reactor, but she turned into a monster. We killed it, but despite Vincent's transformation, she escaped."

"Man, this thing came ramming by and she just fuckin' knocked me out. Bam!" Reno added on unneeded commentary.

"So she created all these monsters?" The trooper pointed around him where the corpses were disintegrating.

"It was to distract us so she could escape." Angeal was done with Sephiroth and joined the conversation. "We've failed."

The older man's statement drove it home for the rest of them. The very monster Hojo and Hollander had used to create these SOLDIERs, the one said to be able to destroy the world, was on the loose. And no one, not even Vincent or Cloud's sixth sense, could tell them where she was. If this creature was anything as bad as what Zack had told him and what they had read while in the library, terrible things could happen to the Planet and Shinra would never be able to stop it. Jenova left no trace; it would be impossible to know her next move.

They had unleashed the Calamity upon the world.

* * *

Sephiroth did not join the others, instead merely staring into the sky that Genesis had disappeared into. The first moment he laid eyes upon his old friend, the General was overjoyed to see him. That was, until he'd seen the effects of the degradation and his fight with Zack, as well as the almost crazed look in Genesis's eyes. There was very little of the man he once knew left.

They had fought and for some reason Cloud had stepped in and stopped them. He was less impressed with the fact he'd stood up to them, starting to get used to the boy's nerves of steel, and more that he actually was able to stop Genesis, of all people. As far as he knew, his friend had not been holding back like Sephiroth had.

Perhaps it had been left over from the strange energy that had possessed the small trooper earlier.

Either way, by the time they had taken the fight outside, the Jenova possessed monsters had attacked, interrupting them. Sephiroth and the others had taken care of business, but Genesis had disappeared.

His purpose had to been reclaim Jenova, but why had he made this detour? Why had he confronted Sephiroth?

"We seek it thus, and take to the sky…." He did not want to believe his friend was so far gone that there was no hope.

_Do you really desire freedom so much? Do you…despise me?_

It hurt him to think that.

They needed to return to Shinra now, that was for sure. Not only had Hojo wanted Sephiroth to meet Jenova and cause a terrible event to take place, but now the very creature was on the loose and Genesis himself was seeking it. They could not be left unchecked any longer and deserting the company now would only alarm their enemies and drive them into a corner.

Plus, there was the matter of the boy to take care of. He desired to become a SOLDIER, despite his knowledge of what they really were, and was connected to this whole business in some way. Also, the strange encounter with Cloud and the glowing eyes was bothering him. What exactly was going on? Sephiroth did not like being out of the loop.

"I'm sorry, Genesis." He opened up his palm and let a few black feathers float out of his hand. "I see what you mean. 'The wandering soul knows no rest…'"

He gracefully returned to his other comrades as the feathers floated up into the sky.

* * *

_The three companions:-the hero, the prisoner, and the wanderer-had all lost each other, searching for the gift of the goddess. But it was not to remain so. Their fates were bound together again by an unbreakable promise, one where they were to share their journey together. Tied together as brothers, torn apart by torment. Who was the hero, and who becomes the victim?_

_-from the files of Uther Strife_

_Loveless (Act 1)_


	12. Return to Shinra

"But what about the chocobos?" Cloud was panicking. He'd forgotten about the birds because of the whole business with Jenova, but now that he remembered their fluffy friends…"Zack, we have to do something about them before we go back!"

"Chill, chill, Cloud. You know what makes chocobos so special?" Zack clapped his hands onto the top of Cloud's head,"If you let the rentals go, they instinctively return to their owners. They'll be perfectly fine if we just set them free."

Now that Zack had said it, it did make sense. Cloud remembered something like that in the books he read about chocobos, and since all monsters were afraid of them, the birds would probably be fine. His own little black one however, was a different story.

"Then what about Zack? He needs a home and I can't leave him in Nibelheim," Cloud said, attempting to remove his friend's hands.

"Like I said, don't worry! Out east past Kalm there's this chocobo farm. If you attach a note and some money to your little guy, the lady at that outpost should make sure he gets there. And besides, if anyone else tried to steal him, he'd probably eat them." Zack laughed, waggling his fingers to show all the times the chocobo pecked them.

"Really? You're sure?" Cloud finally got free of the hands.

"Yeah. I bought out a stable there awhile ago in case I needed it. I can give it to that little guy. Maybe you can enter him in some races and get some extra cash, huh?" Zack's elbow nudged at Cloud and he just dodged and gave him a look.

"I got enough from killing those monsters, thank you," Cloud grumbled, purposefully ignoring Zack as he went to go take care of the birds. Even if it was just a short trip, he'd grown attached to them-and they to him-and he was sorry to see them go, but they wouldn't be happy where he was going. Setting the two other green ones free, he stuck around with Zack a little bit longer.

"Sorry I gotta send you away, but I'll promise I'll visit sometime, okay? Besides, that chocobo guy at the farm is sure to take good care of you." He buried his hands in the soft feathers around the bird's neck as it warbled softly and pecked a bit at his hair.

"You'll be fine. Like all of us will. And maybe I'll come and ride you some more and we can even race, how does that sound? You look like a racer." Cloud smiled and patted his head. Zack squawked almost in agreement, and ruffled his feathers.

"Well, enough teary goodbyes." The trooper-former trooper, really-made sure everything was off the chocobo and slipped a note and some gil he'd made off the safe monster fight into a pouch on the saddle. The note contained instructions to send Zack to the chocobo farm and also contact details in case something came up.

"You're all set." Looking around briefly to see no one was watching, he lightly kissed the bird on his head and then shooed him off. Zack mournfully rustled his wings, but did as his owner said and trotted off into the mountains.

* * *

"I am going to Midgar as well," Vincent had said suddenly, emerging from the shadows. The other SOLDIERs looked at him in surprise.

"I thought you said you didn't want to return to Shinra, or was that just Angeal?" Zack asked curiously.

Vincent cocked his head slightly. "I have no love for the company, but I wish to assist you in your task of taking down Hojo. Therefore, I will infiltrate Midgar below the plate."

"No one will be looking for a dead man," Sephiroth said.

"Indeed." With a flap of his cape, and the man had vanished into the scenery.

"Hey wait! How are we supposed to contact….you…and he's gone." Zack threw up his hands. "Man, I know he's a Turk, but he really sucks at the whole 'communicating thing'."

"No need for that, Zack. He has already given me his number." Sephiroth cut into the younger man's rant.

"Well  _that's just lovely."_

* * *

"I'm sorry I have to leave you again, but you know I cannot return right now. For a lot of reasons," Angeal was telling his student. To be fair, Zack did know  _why_ he had to leave he just didn't like it.

"You promise that, okay? This isn't like last time where you just vanish into thin air and then come back spouting some crap about being a monster, okay?" Zack demanded, actually poking his mentor in the chest.

Angeal had the gall to actually chuckle at that. "I know, I know, death by puppy then, is it? I'm just going to go look for Genesis. I have to find him before its too late, Zack."

"Yeah, I get it…just keep in touch, okay?" Zack wiggled his hand by his ear to indicate a cell phone. "When you can."

"It'll be helpful to us all." Sephiroth had come up behind him. "If we are really to be working together, with the new threat of Jenova."

Angeal nodded. "How could I abandon you now, Sephiroth? I have been given a new lease on life, and I feel the need to use it."

"Bring him back safe, Angeal." Sephiroth said softly, holding out his hand. Zack smiled slightly, edging out of the way. He was glad the man finally had at least one of his friends back. He'd been so  _lonely._

The older SOLDIER took Sephiroth's hand, actually pulling the General into a rough hug like he'd seen many soldiers do. Sephiroth looked a bit surprised by the gesture, but didn't worm his way out of it.

"I will Seph. We'll all get through this." Angeal let go of his friend. "The helicopter the Turk called for will be coming soon. I need to leave."

The General merely nodded, looking rather glum. "Angeal, if you do meet up again with Genesis…" He leaned forward and whispered something into the older man's ear that Zack did not catch, but it must've been something important from the way Angeal's eyes widened.

"I…I understand."The older SOLDIER nodded and Sephiroth backed away, resuming his immovable poker face as if the conversation had not happened. There was no way in hell Zack was even going to try and ask, as dying with curiosity as he was.

"Oh, and another thing…Zack. If I can, I'd like to hear how Cloud does with his training," Angeal said, startling the younger man out of his train of thought.

"Wait, huh? Why?"

"Well, he's going to be a student of yours, correct? I may not be Shinra personnel anymore, but I still need to keep up on my own student's exploits." The mischievous glint in his mentor's eyes was there again, and Zack was overjoyed to see it back. It meant Angeal was getting  _better._

"Man, so little confidence in me." Zack sighed dramatically."I guess I'll have to now, just to prove you wrong."

Angeal gave a ruffle to Zack's hair, much like he loved doing to his blond friend, and smiled. "You picked a good one, puppy."

The older man stepped back, and with a swift motion, his white wing unfurled, and he took to the sky. Zack squinted upwards, waving a bit, until he couldn't even see a shadow, desperately wishing his mentor the best of luck.

He slid his eyes over to where Sephiroth was still standing impassively, hoping the General too would be okay. At least this time, he'd left on a better note, with hope of further contact.

"We're…not gonna tell Cloud about the whole puppy thing, okay?" Zack pleaded.

"I would never." Sephiroth smiled.

* * *

By the time Cloud had made it back to the group, Angeal had already left. "Aww Cloud, you just missed him! He left like a couple minutes ago!" Zack said mournfully.

"Good, 'cause I think Reno already called for the chopper to pick us up in a few minutes," Cloud replied, dumping the rest of their bags at his feet.

"Aaaand, he is correct!" A too-familiar voice said right behind him, as a too-familiar pair of arms invaded his personal space. "They were all so upset to leave each other; it was such a sad farewell! Almost brought a tear to my eye, yo!"

"Reno, I swear to Minerva, right now, I'm gonna rip your arms off!" Cloud snarled, trying to get out of the Turk's grip. Reno merely let go and danced away quickly, light as ever on his feet.

"Yeah, well if I ever meet said Goddess face to face, I'll hold you to that promise, got it, slick?" The red-head flashed his famous wolf grin.

"Jee, way to ruin the moment, Reno." Zack grumbled.

"Jus' doin' my job, ya know! Tseng pays me for this, after all."

"I doubt that…"

Cloud ignored the ongoing conversation in favor of staring back at the peaceful village behind him. It was home to many bad memories, but then again, it was still home. He was suddenly seized by an onslaught of homesickness, wondering if he should just rush home and burst into his house, telling his mom he was there and he was okay.

Or maybe even see if Tifa was still around, asking about him and assure her that he hadn't given up, maybe apologizing for making the same promise to Zack.

_You can still wait, can't you?_

At the same time, Cloud knew he couldn't do that. Coming back to the village as he was now would just be showing them all his failure to do it the first time. It would prove them all right, prove himself right, and he couldn't handle that. He was going to go back with Zack and become a SOLDIER, now that he had a second chance.

Cloud just needed a bit more time. With Zack's help, the trooper could finally find the strength to protect everyone.  _I've done it with Angeal and Sephiroth, I can do this._

"Are you sure you don't want to go back? This is your last chance," Zack said quietly, noticing his friend's preoccupation.

Cloud shook his head firmly. "No. I'm not ready. And….they'll understand."

At least his mom and maybe Tifa would. Besides, he could just send them a letter later, like he was planning on doing.

"Okay then, if you're sure." Zack smiled at him and went to wait for the chopper. Cloud turned back and sighed. Nothing ever turned out the way he planned.

* * *

The good thing was, Cloud had managed to successfully stave off his motion sickness for most of the ride back to Midgar. The bad thing was the two regulars assigned to the mission kept staring at him and Zack-him especially, being so out of uniform.

The story they gave them was that Zack and Cloud had lost contact with Shinra after the skirmish at Modeoheim, and afraid Genesis' troops may be after them, travelled their way down to Nibelheim where they heard the General would be visiting, in hopes they could rendezvous there. The troopers, with added confirmation from Sephiroth, seemed to buy it.

_I hope the rest of Shinra does too, because if not, we're in big trouble…_ And he didn't have a reputation to protect himself.

"Are you sure you aren't going to throw up?" Zack whispered to him, but Cloud merely let off a frosty glare.

"I open my mouth, and I'm liable to puke on you, so shut it." Thinking about returning to Shinra managed to jump-start his motion sickness,  _yes thank you for that._

"Good thing once you get mako injections that will probably go away." The younger first class kept speaking. "And now I know why you were so quiet on the first chopper flight! I was wondering about that…"

Thankfully, the flight didn't last nearly as long as the boat ride so Cloud didn't have to listen to Zack's rambling too much, but as they approached Shinra headquarters, his eyes bugged out.

"Is there a reason Tseng and the Vice President are out there waiting for us?" He asked, his voice going up about five octaves.

Sephiroth finally reacted to this new information. "Rufus Shinra is out there?"

Cloud pointed out the window. "That is him, right?" It was one of the few bits of information he actually had paid attention to.

Both of the first classes nodded. Cloud had forgotten about the other two troopers, so he ignored their odd stares in favor of not having a panic attack. "Oh shit, I'm totally dead…"

"Strife, they have no reason to actually be angry at you," Sephiroth started to say but the trooper cut him off.

"You mean you two! You're the General of SOLDIER and you-you're Zack Fair! I'm just a trooper and I don't even have a proper uniform!" Crap, he knew this was such a terrible idea and why would the Vice President be out there in the first place? Did he suspect their real purpose? If so, Cloud was the weakest link.

"Cloud, calm down! I already told you I'd cover for you. It was my idea anyway!" Zack was desperately trying to ease his worries, but it wasn't working very well.

"They have a lot more on their plates then an out-of-uniform infantryman. Calm down," Sephiroth said. Cloud stared at him, but took a deep breath.  _If the General seems to be willing to cover, I think I can be okay…._

"Luckily no Hojo…" he whispered softly enough that only the SOLDIERs could hear, and both of their moods grew visibly darker.

"We're landin', yo!" Reno called from the cockpit to the silence in the cabin.

* * *

Cloud tried to not feel the stares as he hopped down onto the helipad after the blades had stopped whirring. It helped that Zack and Sephiroth emerged straight after him, but he still felt horribly self-conscious. Tseng and the Vice President had started walking over as soon as they had got out and he forced himself to look only at the Turk.

"Hey boss, we made it back!" Reno came down from the cockpit, and Tseng nodded at him.

"Thank you Reno, I can see that." Tseng turned back to the General, but Cloud himself was more concerned with the other blond-haired man, who was staring right at him.

_It's creepy how much we look alike…_ The trooper shook his head. No. He needed to concentrate.

"Your mission was a success, I take it?" The Turk leader asked, and he could hear the double-sided question.

"For the most part," Sephiroth replied."It did not go all quite as intended."

"And what would you mean by that?" The Vice President spoke for the first time. The General slid his cool gaze over to him instead.

"There was an unexpected monster attack, but nothing I couldn't handle." he said calmly, never faltering once. Cloud couldn't gauge Sephiroth's attitude towards the Vice President, but since this involved his friends, he probably wasn't taking kindly to the questioning.

"Then what about the sudden return of Zack Fair and…"Vice President Shinra's gaze rested on Cloud finally. "Who are you? I don't remember you being a SOLDIER first."

_Crap!_

"That's uh, because I'm not, sir. Vice President!" He snapped his hand up in a full, perfect salute. "My name is Cloud Strife, Squad 7 of the Shinra standing army. My uniform was ruined and when I arrived in Nibelheim, this was the only suitable replacement I could find!"

"It was my idea," Zack quickly cut in, standing almost in front of Cloud. "He's not trying to impersonate a superior officer or anything like that, I swear!"

Luckily, the Vice President seemed to be almost amused by this turn of events. "Fine. Cloud Strife, is it? There are much more worrisome things to bother about then a trooper with the wrong uniform, especially if SOLDIER Fair seems so eager to defend."

Cloud let out a breath he'd been holding, shooting a i-told-you-so glance at Zack, who pretended he couldn't see it.

"Then what are you two actually doing here?" The Vice President continued to speak, but luckily, Sephiroth took that one.

"That will all be explained in the official report, so if you would like to not delay us any further…" There was a tension between the two that lasted for only a moment, before the vice president gave way, and gestured that they continue walking. The two Turks had watched the entire thing passively, and when Cloud glanced over at him, Reno winked, as if to congratulate him for all the extra attention.

Tempted to flip him off, he just turned back and scampered after Zack, feeling out of place among the whole group.

* * *

Sephiroth sighed and massaged his temples. He'd been staring too long at this report, trying to see if all the stories made sense together. Tseng and Reno he need not worry about, since it was the Turks' job to present cover-ups to the board all the time, but it was Zack and Cloud, as well as the two regulars, he was more worried about. His two companions had done well so far to not mention Angeal or even Genesis in front of anyone, but the General knew that luck could only hold so far. It had only been a day, after all.

Surprisingly, their reports fit each others tellings of the events with enough incongruency to deny being scripted. The General suspected Reno may have helped Cloud out with that, but the boy had also proven to be very smart. Perhaps it was a good thing. After all, who would suspect a former trooper and Zack Fair of being tricksters?

Speaking of former trooper, Zack had wasted no time submitting his request to sponsor Cloud into the SOLDIER program. He smirked at the form before signing his approval down, wondering how much it would piss Hojo off to let in a cadet he'd formerly failed. Unfortunately, it would take awhile for the request to be fully processed, but they could handle the wait.

_Hojo…_ Sephiroth leaned back, his mind whirling with all the terrible facts he'd learned of his origins. Some of it he had already suspected-Hojo never had treated him as human, after all-but to read and realize the extent of the things done to him was sickening. He strongly believed Vincent's words were the only thing that had stopped him from going into a rage. This was a man who had given him something precious: the truth.

He was human originally. And he had a mother, Lucrecia Crescent. Vincent had shown him a picture and he was right; he did look like her, even if Hojo had perverted his genetics to the point where Sephiroth could barely recognize himself. There was very little that was keeping him from storming into Hojo's office right now and murdering the man in cold blood, and it had to do with proving to the man he wasn't the killer Hojo had groomed him to be.

That and he suspected Hojo knew how to save his friends from their degradation.  _The only thing we can do is wait…his time shall come._

* * *

It was odd for Cloud to return to the army barracks after the whole escapade to Modeoheim and his hometown, though he was finally grateful for a working shower and a bed that wasn't covered in dust. His squadmates seemed to be out for training at the moment so he had free reign of the bathrooms.

_Finally, I can get all that mud out of my hair…_ After relaxing in the hot water for about an hour and finally changing into some proper clothes, not that the SOLDIER first uniform wasn't really cool, just hard to explain, he settled into his bed, ready to write a letter.

However, that was of course, the exact time his roommates decided to come back.

"Oh wow, Strife, we thought you were dead!" He jolted upwards, hitting his head on the top bunk, earning a few laughs.

"Thanks for the confidence…" Cloud grumbled. He really did like these squadmates of his, though. They were a lot nicer to him then the cadets ever were, partly because they were in the same boat. A lot of failed dropouts landed in the standing army, along with people who just didn't bother with SOLDIER, and luckily, Cloud hadn't bunked with the resentful ones. The rest of the army, however, weren't so nice. Just these guys.

"No but seriously, all we heard was that you disappeared in the Modeoheim fiasco. We were sure you were done for!" The tall one of the bunch, Jones, took the bunk above him.

"Yeah. And then hearing no other word except for the General going off to some town in the middle of nowhere suddenly…figured it was another Shinra coverup." Aspari, the other blonde one, though much taller and stockier, and Glenn, dark-haired, and thick-skinned, found their way to their beds too. They rarely if ever referred to each other by first name, but since they hadn't been together long, it sort of made sense. Except Glenn. He wouldn't tell anyone his last name.

"Nibelheim." Cloud sighed. At least he wouldn't have to try too hard with a cover story if no information got out.

"Huh?"

"He went to Nibelheim. My hometown." Cloud looked up at the guy sharing his bunk-bed.

"And how do you know that?" Jones asked, his arm dangling down.

"….because I was there?" He sort of shrugged, knowing where this was going.

There was silence for a minute before they all pounced on him at once with questions.

"No way."

"You mean YOU were actually there with the General?"

"What was he like?"

"Was his sword just as long as they said?"

Cloud held up his pillow in defense against all three of them. "Hey, stop it!"

They gave him a bit of breathing space before he dared to emerge from behind the pillow. "Yes, I met Sephiroth and he's actually a pretty cool guy."

Glenn's eyes bugged out. "You  _talked_ to him?"

"Yes? Well I got stuck alone with him because of Zack-"

"How the hell are you on a first name basis with a SOLDIER first class and the General?" Aspari questioned, finally interested in Cloud. Unlike the other two, he had less qualms about being a bit…forward with the other blonde trooper, though he wasn't nearly as bad as any cadets.

Jones however, waved a hand. "Lay off him, man. I heard that Zack Fair's like that to everyone."

"You could say that again…"Cloud muttered, vaguely remembering all the far-too-friendly bear hugs that crushed his ribs.

"Still, Sephiroth? What happened on that trip?" Looks like none of his squadmates were letting him get away with this one.

"It's classified," he said with his best Reno grin. Jones' response was to throw a pillow at him.

"Oh come on! What honestly could've happened to someone like  _you_ to be classified?" Aspari laughed.

_Well, fighting almost one-on-one with Genesis and discovering a dead Turk in the basement of an abandoned building would do it…_ Unfortunately, he couldn't say that out loud.

"Me and Zack just got lost after uh..Angeal Hewley attacked us in Modeoheim so we had to make our way down to Nibelheim where the General was, alright?" He held his hands up. "The most exciting part of that was maybe monster hunting and talking to Sephiroth."

Hopefully they would buy that, and by name-dropping the General, they did.

"Anything cool you fight?" Glenn asked, and Cloud's hand hovered over where his summon materia was still nestled against his arm.

"There was only one thing that was really nasty, but luckily Reno-that red-haired Turk, right?-was there to help me."  _Yeah, for all the good that did me._ Still, it didn't do any good to show off and he was still trying to wrap his mind around the whole business.

"Hmph. Boring." Aspari went to go shower, leaving the three of them alone. Cloud pushed himself up so he was sitting.

"It really was something, though…the General. He's really amazing." Cloud hoped the heat rising on his face wasn't actually visible. Glenn merely sighed.

"Soo jealous, kid. I'd love to just be in the same room as him…"

The rest of their evening continued like this, and when it finally came time for lights out, Cloud merely stared at the bunk above him, unable to sleep. It all felt so surreal, now that he was back among normal people. Had he really taken on the safe monster, stared down both Angeal and Genesis, had a heart to heart with Sephiroth of all people? He pushed back his sleeve and stared at the softly glowing light of the Odin materia as it bathed everything in gentle red. And then all the stuff about Jenova and Vincent and the strange green light. Sephiroth had said he'd started talking about how he'd save him and Cloud had no idea what was up with that.

_I wonder if Vincent made it here okay…_ He drew his mind away from the strange Planet things by thinking about the retired Turk. Zack had told him about how the man planned on sneaking into Midgar under the plate, and if there was anyone he could trust with hiding, it was definitely Vincent.

_Still, I hope I see some of them again._ As horrifying and strange as the whole trip had been, it had also been the best week (or so) of his life and he didn't regret any of it at all. Except maybe the getting-shot-in-the-shoulder part. However, now that he was back in reality, he was terrified that maybe all of them, even Reno, would forget about him. That Zack would forget about his promise to make him SOLDIER. He slowly drifted off to sleep, holding onto the materia like it was the last thing that connected him to his new friends.

* * *

_That night his dream was stronger than normal, for he stayed wreathed in that gentle green light for longer than a minute. He concentrated, swimming through it, until he finally found what he was looking for; the girl in the flowers._

_"Hello?" He called, not knowing if she would hear him, but at the sound of his voice, she stood up and turned around._

_"Hello again, Cloud." She smiled as warm as her voice, and he couldn't help but smile back. The Planet was all around him, drawing him in and comforting his woes._

_"I…never got to ask who you were…" He looked down at his feet-or rather, where they were supposed to be. There was very little sense of up or down. The brown-haired girl tilted her head down until they made eye contact again._

_"Silly, you left before I could say anything. I'm Aerith." The girl smiled again, her beautiful green eyes sparkling with light. "There, now we're all introduced."_

_He almost asked her if she was real or not, since this was after all, just a dream, but something else rose to importance. "Did I…save them?"_

_Aerith didn't answer right away, looking almost confused. "Hmm?"_

_"You said last time we spoke…something terrible would happen. But nothing bad has happened yet. So does that mean…"_

_"Oh…."She didn't seem to quite know what to say, but took his hands instead. The warmth of her skin passed onto his, like the breath of the earth. "I'm sorry, I can't really tell. But I think you did okay. So do they."_

_"They?"_

_"The voices of the Planet."She looked all around them at the everlasting green. "Are you happy?"_

_That question caught him so off guard he answered honestly._

_"I-yeah. A lot more then before."_

_"Then you did okay." She smiled and let go of his hands. He almost closed his eyes, but didn't want this dream to disappear. He still had so many things to ask….but she had already turned and was walking away._

_"A sad fate is in store for you, Champion of the Planet." Someone spoke but it didn't sound like Aerith. The green light of the Lifestream grew blinding before Cloud woke up, crying._

* * *

"Sooo, Boss, I'm hopin' you got my note." Reno leaned casually against the wall, finally having gotten the cuts on his face all stitched up.

"Yes, and thank you for the heads up." Tseng was at his computer, not even looking at him. "I haven't found anything, though."

"Seriously? You, the hacking expert?" He strutted around to look over Tseng's shoulder as he worked.

"No. Hojo is a very hard person to circumvent cleanly. I don't want to take any unnecessary risks." Tseng clicked once more and brought up Cloud's cadet profile, so Reno kept silent. "I looked through it several times but there are no red flags. Cloud does not seem to have any outstanding skill with weapons or materia, and his physical scores are terrible. He seems to be smart, but other then that…"

"Wait, are you serious?" Reno was staring at Tseng.

"Did I…say something wrong?" And apparently testing the Turk leader's patience.

"That no outstanding skill with materia thing has GOT to be wrong. The kid pulled out a Firaga in the heat of battle. Not to mention he took down an entire goddamn monster with swords he'd never really been trained to use." Not only once, but apparently twice, according to Zack.

It was Tseng's turn to stare at him in shock. "A firaga spell?"

"Yeah, out of a Fire2 Materia, no less. He  _broke_ the thing." Reno waved his hands around, trying to emphasize how weird this was. "Did he show anything while he was on that mission with you?"

The taciturn man shook his head. "No. He kept up with me pretty well, but he was just an ordinary trooper. Smart, but didn't stand out. Just like the report says."

"Well, there's nothing ordinary 'bout Cloud, I'm tellin' you that now." Reno shook his head. "You sure someone didn't tamper with the files?"

At that last comment, Tseng sat up fully in his chair. "I should've thought of that…" He began clicking furiously.

"Wait, what? Did I say somethin'?" His boss did not answer his question, which left him even more annoyed.

"I was right." Tseng tilted the screen slightly so Reno could see it. "Hojo himself accessed Strife's file before denying him candidacy in the SOLDIER program."

"Doesn't he…do that for everyone?"

"He checks all of them, but he normally doesn't bother with individual profiles unless they are of special interest to him," Tseng said. "But why he would pay attention is beyond me."

"Guessin' Creep-show didn't see him in action like I did," Reno said flippantly, highly doubting the man ever even came out of his lab at times.

"Reno." Tseng's sudden serious tone had him standing up straight.

"Yeah?"

"I suggest you not get any more involved in this case. You have carried out your mission and seen to the safety of Zack Fair and his…contingents, so there's no further need for you to stick around." Tseng rested his hands lightly on his desk, almost troubled.

_Is he worried 'bout me?_

"Reno, please."  _That_ got his attention, for Tseng never said please to anyone.

"What's goin' on here…" The red-head shook himself. "I'm gettin weird vibes, y'know!"

"You have done. Your. Job." Tseng said firmly, ending the conversation. Reno almost opened his mouth to say something else, but thought better about it. There really wasn't anything he could say to that and frankly, Tseng was scaring him right now. He merely shrugged and slowly walked out. After all, how was he supposed to respond?

* * *

Surprisingly enough, he saw Cloud just around an hour or so later. Stalking him for a bit, as good comrades were liable to do, the trooper seemed to be heading for the SOLDIER head office to drop in a report.

He been thinking somewhat over what Tseng had told him, and his boss did have a point; after all, Hojo had recruited him in on this escapade and told him he might end up like Vincent. All the amazing sights and sounds of the mansion-and the strange Turk's words-seemed to have made him forget that.

_Some great Turk I'm shapin' up to be…._ Cloud was an interesting case, though. Seemingly ordinary at first glance, but peel back his outside and be prepared to drop all expectations. Impressing Reno was one thing, but both Zack and Sephiroth now seemed to have high opinions of him, not to mention their large winged friend. With scores like that, where exactly had this trooper come from?

_Maybe he's one a those guys who needs desperation to get better._ Cloud had said he'd never been in a real battle situation before, minus the Modeoheim skirmishes, and according to Tseng, those really didn't count.

This was just going to keep burning and burning at him if he didn't figure it out. Why was Cloud so important? And more relevant, why did Reno care? Okay, so the kid was smart, and snarky to boot-once you got him out of his shell-and was someone who finally understood what being short and surrounded by giant thugs was like and okay, Zack did call them friends….

"Hey, slick!" Before he knew it, his feet had carried him over to the small trooper. "What're you up to this side of the plate?"

Shoving his arm over in a quick move, Cloud showed him his papers. "I do have to file a special report, you know."

"Ah, bureaucracy at its finest." Now that he did notice, Cloud actually seemed almost happy to see him. "Or did you miss me already?"

"Why would I ever feel that way?" The blond trooper shot back, but never actually started walking quicker, like normally.

"I knew it! It's because you love me." Reno threw his arms around his new best friend, earning him a knee to the stomach  _again._

"Off."

They continued like this for sometime down the hallway before unfortunately, Reno had to actually go do something useful with his time.

_Sorry Tseng, but I don't think I ever really had a choice._

* * *

It was a few days before Zack's request to sponsor Cloud had gone all the way through, thanks to Shinra red tape. In that time, the first class desperately wished he could go see Aerith down in the slum church, but had to content himself with just a phone call instead. She at least seemed to be glad to know he was alright, though something seemed to be bothering her. Promising later he'd go help her out, Zack continued down to Sephiroth's office where maybe he could bring the trooper at least a little good news.

"Yo, Cissnei!" He raised his hand to wave at the bronze-haired Turk walking by. She looked up at him in surprise before greeting him back.

"Hey, Zack, how's it going?" Cissnei stopped in her tracks.

"Not much, just trying to deal with all the aftermath of that Modeoheim business, you know?" He waved his hand, laughing, in case anyone was listening to their conversation. Luckily, Cissnei knew exactly what he was doing and smiled along.

"Keeping you busy with paperwork?" She asked.

"Pretty much. I was just trying to get my request processed right now so I could go tell Cloud-you know, that little trooper-he could finally become a cadet, but you know how it works," He grumbled. "It's been what, a week?"

Cissnei reached over and patted him on the arm. "I'm sure the both of you can handle a little wait, Zack."

Zack didn't actually know if all of the Turks had the full story from Tseng or not, but he suspected the leader had at least told Cissnei some of the details, since they were, after all, friends. Still, it wasn't something he could discuss openly.

"Say, while I was gone, you didn't happen to keep tabs on Aerith, did you?" He asked in a tone that made sure she knew he still wasn't very happy about all this. Cissnei ignored that and merely nodded.

"Yes, Tseng did for the most part. He told her you were okay, though because of confidentiality, he couldn't share any information," she said carefully.

"Did she seem a little…upset, or anything?" Zack threw the question out there.

"No, I don't think so." She put a hand to her chin, thinking. "Why, is something wrong?"

"Uh, nah. Just worried, y'know?" He waved it off. Definitely no need to get the Turks involved."Anyways, I better get going so I'll catch you later."

"Okay." Cissnei looked to be leaving as well, but before she did, she grabbed Zack's arm again and drew him in close.

"I'd be careful. Not everyone is buying your story about Modeoheim." Then, as if nothing happened, she walked away. Zack stared dumbly after her, shaken.

_Wait, who? Who isn't? Hojo, or someone else?_ This was getting confusing every second he kept thinking about it. As soon as he got a chance, this was going straight to Sephiroth. He definitely would know what was going on.

 


	13. Of Dreams and Delusions

_I suppose he did succeed in his task,_ Hojo thought as he slammed his fists into the table. That stupid, inexcusable brat! He had thought that a new Turk would be the easiest to manipulate, but apparently for once in his life, Hojo had been wrong. Reno had succeeded, oh he had  _truly_  succeeded in bringing his newest specimen back…with interest.

Zack Fair now held a high interest in the trooper, along with the Turks, from what he could tell of Tseng's meddling. Not only that but his perfect SOLDIER Sephiroth was sticking his nose in! Hojo had felt the urge to tear something apart when he realized that he would no longer be able to have the boy all to himself.

_How could he outsmart me in this way? How could he entrench himself so deeply with so many important people?_ Not only that, but the very Turk he'd assigned to retrieve the trooper barely left him out of his sight. And it wasn't as though Hojo could pull another Valentine out of nowhere.

_Could they have…._ He did not believe their fabricated reports anymore then he believed Sephiroth saying there had been nothing in the reactor.  _That boy probably didn't even go up there!_

This would not do. He was Professor Hojo, and he could not be outmatched by anyone, much less by a bunch of thugs and children. He  _would_ have his prize, even if some corners needed to be cut.

It was evident however, that they were lying in wait. The General, as well as his friend Angeal.  _Two can play at the waiting game, and my game is much easier to acquire._

The Reunion he had planned with Jenova's family would come to pass, and no one could stop it. Not even this possible…

* * *

"Finally!" Zack held the paper aloft in front of Sephiroth's face, who remained as impassive as ever.

"I am glad to see you are excited at the prospect of a student," The General said smoothly, removing some papers from the excitable SOLDIER's range.

"Do I detect sarcasm in your wonderful dulcet tones, General?" Zack asked, too happy about Cloud's approval coming through to care he was talking back.

"My tones are neither dulcet nor sarcastic and I suggest you leave before you make a mess of things," he said, gesturing at the door.

"Fine, fine. Don't pretend like you aren't interested either!" Zack stared him down. He'd seen the way Sephiroth had looked at Cloud, especially after the fight with Genesis. He wasn't sure whether it was respect or possibly curiosity, but the General was no longer impartial and uncaring.

_I'll make sure to keep him updated then,_ he thought as he left the room. But Cloud's approval had come through surprisingly quickly despite his misgivings about Hojo. Zack had been worried that the scientist would try to interfere again, but everything seemed to be going well so far. As much as he wanted Cloud to stay far away from the creepy man, Zack knew this might actually be the safest place. With his apprenticeship to Zack, Cloud would be under more scrutiny then ever and Hojo wouldn't be able to suddenly steal him away.

At least, that's how he was hoping it would pan out. Word had already spread about the great Zack Fair sponsoring a cadet who had failed last period, a move that hadn't been made for years.  _I got faith in you kid. I wanna see what you're made of…_

It was enough to keep him in a good mood despite Cissnei's warning. They could deal with that when it came up.

* * *

Cloud still couldn't tell if all of the past week had been a dream, it was so improbable.  _Everything with Planet-destroying aliens, Ancients, my dad and Genesis…_ it all felt so unreal now that he was firmly grounded in reality, and he had to keep clinging to his Odin summon to remind himself it was real.

Because he never unequipped it, he'd gotten around to talking to the summon in the little red stone, and Odin was surprisingly friendly. Apparently not many people took the time to even acknowledge the beings in the first place. It was a bit like speaking to the other materia like the Fire, except with actual speech.  _If that makes sense…what am I, insane?_

Either way, he hadn't shown the red stone to his fellow squadmates for fear of drawing further attention. After all, a mere trooper having a ridiculously powerful-if Odin were to be believed-materia was a statistical improbability.

Seeing Reno again as he filed his final report was a blessing in disguise, as it proved none of his 'old friends' had forgotten about his existence. Unfortunately, it meant Reno was as annoying as ever, though he was being oddly friendly. Did he actually mean it this time? Cloud wouldn't deny that he sort of maybe was glad the Turk was around, he just wished he could trust him all the way.

And that he could trust Zack's promise. He'd swore he would sponsor the little trooper into the SOLDIER program, but it had been a week and Cloud still heard nothing. Could he have forgotten? Or gotten denied again? He had been secretly packing his stuff up in his bunk in hopes the word would come in and everyone in his squad could tell something was up with him.

"Yo, Strife, your head up in the clouds?" Jones knocked against his head lightly.

"Haha, very funny." Cloud pushed him off. They were supposed to all be in training right now, despite being with the program for most of the year. Shinra liked to know its troops were still brushing up on their skills.

"You still thinking about all the stuff that happened?" Jones asked, glancing down at him.

"Yes? Well…." He shrugged, clamming up. Despite all the progress with Zack, Cloud seemed to be regressing into his shell again.

"Come on Strife, that was some major shit even if you ain't spilling everything. It's no big deal you worked up about it. But what's got you so on edge that you're packing your bags?" The other trooper asked him.

Dammit, he was too observant. Then again, Cloud was not the master of subtlety, as Reno had frequently pointed out to him. But he didn't know whether to tell or not because he was fairly certain everyone would laugh at him.

"It's nothing just…something Zack told me. It's nothing."

"What, you afraid he'll never talk to you again?" Jones elbowed Cloud in the side.

"I-yeah, something like that," Cloud said sadly, even if Zack didn't seem to be the type to abandon anyone. At least, not after all they'd been through. He knew too much, anyway.

"Well, at least you got us so far!" Glenn said loudly as the other two entered the room.

"Oh, I'm so glad," he muttered and the rest of them laughed, not used to Cloud's sarcasm.

"You learned some bite, kid, lets test it out!" Apparently they were doing some hand-to-hand practice today, and Glenn was his opponent. Great. The tank who had the bulk to be a SOLDIER if he wanted.

His only advantage was the fact that regular infantrymen just learned-and practiced-the basics. If this were a real duel, as Cloud had been in with many of the cadets, he probably would have broken bones.

After a quick set up, the two got to work, Glenn attacking first, Cloud defending. Their routine didn't allow for much creativity, but as he focused on Glenn's blows, he found himself dodging more often then not, like he did with the monsters. He, unlike all the other times, actually saw them coming, though he still had no idea how to counter on his own.

Glenn himself was getting frustrated. "Man, kid, you're hard to hit!" He said loudly as they took a break in between. Cloud was breathing heavily from the workout and just nodded.

"I got a bit of practice in with…some monsters…it's easier to dodge then to block for me." He trotted over to the benches on the side to take a swig of water.

"I can see that. It's 'cause you're so little." Glenn took a playful poke at Cloud's ribs, who dodged again.

"Hey!"

"It's true, little man." Jones and Aspari had plopped down next to them, ignoring most of the other infantrymen come to practice. Cloud's group had been the first to arrive, but as they practiced, more filtered in, including the leader. It was clear that the troopers did not handle their training as seriously as the cadets, something that always got on Cloud's nerves. Then again, they didn't need to be as hardcore, as long as SOLDIER was around, right?

"Thanks for reminding me…." Cloud fed them all with a glare. Their type of teasing was mostly in good taste, but it still reminded him of his height deficit.

"You've gotten better," Aspari noted, not to be bothered with anything else. "The dodging and running away, at least."

The blonde trooper narrowed his eyes at the hidden accusation, but Glenn smoothly took over before he could say anything rude.

"He's a little snake, what can I say? You gotta get better sometime! Seriously though, Strife, that wasn't bad. Just gotta focus more on actually attacking and maybe countering, you know?" Glenn said pointing a finger at him. Cloud merely nodded and ducked away, downing the last of his water. It wasn't so much a problem with attacking, as it was that most of his opponents were bigger than him and he kept getting knocked over in his attempts to block.

_But what if I treated this like the safe monster? What if I used his momentum and size against him?_

Their squad leader shouted and Cloud set his now-empty water bottle down, ready to go up again. However, their session was interrupted by something that no one, least of all Cloud, was expecting.

"HEY, CLOUD, GUESS WHO'S GONNA BE SOLDIER!" Zack Fair's loud, booming voice echoed through the practice room as the first class burst in through the door.

Cloud froze in place, mortified. What the hell was he doing? Not one to be stopped, Zack kept going until he stopped directly in front of the small trooper, his sword nearly getting caught on the door. "Okay, so I managed to get Seph to push the paperwork through really quickly and I got it approved!"

The blonde trooper kept staring at him, as did the rest of the room. It seemed as though the SOLDIER had finally noticed the awkward silence that permeated the room, and scratched his head sheepishly.

"I…interrupted something again, didn't I?" Zack said.

"Yeah. It's called training, Zack," Cloud snapped back, annoyed. Yes, he was overjoyed that Zack had actually kept his promise and good things were gonna happen but did it have to happen in front of everyone? They were  _staring_ and most of them didn't like him.

"Oh, whoops. I'm really sorry about that," Zack apologized and really did sound genuine. "I just uh…had something to tell Cloud here, and I swear it will only take like a minute!"

_Yeah, and I'm sure the entire building has already heard you…._

The squad leader contemplated it for a minute then just nodded and told everyone to get back to work, even if they didn't because a first class in the same room as them. Zack however, pulled Cloud over to the corner to talk more privately.

"Wow, sorry Cloud, I really didn't mean to interrupt anything or you know…" The SOLDIER shook his head. "I've just been really excited and I figured you might be too."

"No, I am!" Cloud held up his hands, oddly feeling the need to reassure his friend, despite being annoyed at his outburst. "Just you know…not in front of everyone…remember what I said about the rest of the army not liking me much?"

"Hm? But you seemed okay with your squadmates," He said incredulously.

"They're okay. The rest of them, not so much." Cloud sighed.

"Oh. Wow. Well, sorry again, but maybe that intimidated them, you can think of it that way!" Zack laughed and clapped a hand down on Cloud's shoulder. "Come on, cheer up! Your approval came through and you're a SOLDIER cadet now! Under the tutelage of yours truly, of course."

Cloud couldn't help but smile at that last part. Zack hadn't forgotten, and he really was getting this second chance at his dream.

"I won't screw it up or let you down, I swear," He said, looking up at Zack.

"I know you won't, Cloud, just remember to be careful. Everyone's got your eyes on you, and you know, not always in a friendly way…." Zack looked sideways, and the trooper knew what he meant. There was still the deal of Hojo and covering up Angeal and Genesis' disappearance.

"Hey have you heard anything…" Cloud asked, but Zack quickly shook his head.

"Everything's normal as I can tell. Just keep your eyes open. Reno should be helping you out," Zack said. Cloud's eyes widened slightly.

"Really? Reno?"

"Yeah. He does seem to care," Zack said in a way that made Cloud think he highly doubted that statement. The trooper did not respond to that statement, rather looked thoughtful. Perhaps the Turk coming and talking to him yesterday hadn't just been an ulterior motive? Or if it was, nothing bad. At the very least, Reno had seemed furious about Hojo's attempted manipulation of him, so he at least had that going for them.

"Well, that's not quite the point here. Point is, effective of you signing this paper, you're a SOLDIER cadet, and entirely my apprentice. So what do you say?" Zack asked, grinning.

"Do you even have to ask that?" Cloud said, returning that smile. The SOLDIER's response to that was again ruffling his hair, but this time he really didn't mind. All the pent up tension and worry he'd built up for the past week was let out in one go, and he truly felt okay again. Things were working out, and it was almost enough to erase the darkness eating away at the edges of his mind.

"Do you wanna finish uh…this, before we go and get you packed up and everything?" Zack asked, jabbing his thumb back at where the other troopers were.

"That's…probably a good idea. I need to work on hand-to-hand anyway," Cloud said, heading back over to the other guys, who were looking at him curiously. Zack however, did not leave, instead following his little friend over.

"Hey, let me make up me interrupting your thing with some help, okay? Think of it like your first lesson!" Zack said excitedly, earning another mortified stare from Cloud, but the first class wasn't taking no for an answer. The blonde trooper-no, he couldn't be called that anymore-was self-conscious as he paired off again with Glenn, who was giving Zack a side eye.

"Your turn to attack, Strife," He said easily, not as intimidated by the SOLDIER. Cloud nodded, then struck out, aiming for his left side, where most fighters were weaker. Glenn easily blocked, countering back, and twisting his arm so he stumbled backwards.

"Ugh!" At least he'd caught himself that time, but…

Zack quickly stepped in. "Nice attack. Cloud, that's not how you handle an blow like that if your opponent is bigger. They're just gonna use your own size against you. Don't try to push back. You won't win. Instead, use his momentum to your advantage, okay?"

He got Glenn to hold up his guard, then demonstrated slowly, step by step, so he could get it.  _That's similar to what I was thinking earlier. I should…_ Cloud nodded eagerly, now that he saw it played out before him. Glenn wasn't as scary as a monster, he could do this.

"Okay." Zack stepped back. "Now let me see you do it. Remember, if he blocks, don't let him counterattack."

Cloud stepped back up, in an offensive position staring his partner down. Suddenly grinning, he struck forward at the same spot, just a little lower, to catch Glenn off balance. As the larger trooper blocked and began to push back, Cloud instead took Zack's advice and stepped with him, dodging under his arm to strike at his unprotected shoulder.

"Ow, damn, Cloud!" Glenn hopped back, a little surprised. "Nice one."

"Thanks."

"I hope you got more of where that came from, kid," Glenn said smiling, and Cloud grinned back, settling into another stance. Zack beamed, obviously proud his student was doing well already.

"Okay, you just keep practicing the normal attacks, like that and you-" he pointed at Glenn-" it seems Cloud has already noticed, but you're a little weak on the left side. I'd cover that if I were you."

Having done his duty, Zack suddenly turned and headed off to another pair, shouting something about terrible form.

Zack's sudden arrival had spurred new life into the session and Cloud never remembered a more productive time of training. The troopers all stayed until the required time, too, which was not actually that surprising, given Zack's charisma. He'd weaved around all the pairs, nudging in a foot there, and correcting another's guard, paying the most attention of course to Cloud, who seemed to be getting better even just in one go. Glenn remarked about it too.

"Man, I don't know where this motivation is coming from but maybe we were wrong about you." Cloud had gotten the jump on him a few times, though he had terrible endurance and was slipping up by the end of the session. "You must've learned something on that big trip of yours."

The blonde trooper was too busy catching his breath again to answer the question immediately. "Yeah…I think….I just needed some good experience or something…" Not to mention motivation that wasn't just him trying not to be a failure for the third or so time.

"Well whatever it is, it's working. That was pretty good. Not the best I've seen, but you've got a great teacher." Glenn again clapped his partner on the shoulder as they started packing up whatever was lying around, mostly individual supplies.

"Yeah, I do," Cloud smiled softly, reminded of Zack's encouraging words, and even Angeal. He could see just where the younger SOLDIER got it from.  _I hope you're doing okay._

"Well, I think you know already, but I'm moving up to SOLDIER, so I'd better be good," Cloud said, waving his hand, and the bigger trooper just laughed.

"Tell me about it. Well, at least you're smarter then most of them. Say, don't forget about us old folk down here. It's been pretty cool having you here," Glenn said, and Cloud looked up at him in surprise.

"R-really?" He had been under the impression that most of, if not all, aside from maybe two of the army folk absolutely hated him.

"Well, we all kind of are rejects here, and I feel for you, you looked like you had it pretty rough." Glenn seemed thoughtful for a moment, and Cloud stopped what he was doing, knowing what he was going to say next was important. "Y'know, being the runt and all. To be honest, the squad thought you were kinda well…a wimp. There wasn't much to you. But you're trying harder then most of the cadets and I have a feeling you've got more…to you."

"Okay, stop it with the sappy shit there, Glenn." Jones had come up behind the two as they were done packing up. "Cloud's gonna get all embarrassed."

Cloud merely raised an eyebrow at the two.

"What? What he said was true. And hey, think of it like this, Strife. If you, a reject, makes it through the SOLDIER program again, you'll be the inspiration for nobodies everywhere! No pressure, of course." Jones grinned again over Glenn's shoulder. "Come on. We should let him go. Don't be a stranger, got it?"

The two exited the room, giving him a wave, leaving Cloud behind, very confused. He really hadn't thought of it like that before. Him being reaccepted into the SOLDIER program was just something that affected him, but could it really inspire other people? Could he somehow be like Sephiroth-no, he was getting way, way too far ahead of himself. It was just another promise that he'd unintentionally made. Well, he was going to have to follow through for all of them.

_It's become a lot more then a childish wish, if it ever was that to begin with._

* * *

Hojo checked the records of the mission to Nibelheim, determined to find the truth to one of his most well-thought-out plans gone horribly wrong. The report clearly stated that Sephiroth and Reno had arrived at the Shinra manor and started investigating it, only to find that SOLDIER first class Zack Fair and trooper Cloud Strife had arrived to rendezvous with them. The mission then proceeded as normal to investigate the reactor, however nothing unusual, other then an attack by mutated monsters, occurred.

Complete and utter bullshit.

There was no way they could not have found Jenova in that reactor! And yet, Sephiroth seemed to show no signs of reacting to Her at all. Clearly, he had not gone to the reactor, but nothing in the research notes he left behind should've led him in that direction, except….

Hojo turned to his computer, typing in a few commands and drawing up one of his many monitoring systems. Despite it being abandoned, he still kept up surveillance, as it was being used for his own personal project, as well as the hiding place for another of his failures: that Turk, Valentine. According to the sensors…

"What?!" He nearly screeched. The Turk had vanished! Not only that, but the safe in the top floor had been opened, his Lost Number utterly destroyed, and the coffin emptied. "No! If he had told that brat his story-"

It all made much too much sense now. The only one to persuade his perfect SOLDIER from reuniting with his true Mother had been awakened.  _I thought that man was too wrapped up in his own guilt to even move from his tomb!_

"You imbecile! I should have finished you off when you were dying the first time!" His fingers tightly wound together, Hojo fought quickly to hold in his emotions, fueling the energy instead into making plans. No, it wouldn't do to just yell and scream at a computer screen when there was no one around to intimidate. It was time to make them pay.

_As for that Turk boy…_ No doubt it had been him who discovered his failure's tomb; there would be no little amount of perfect irony in that fact. Unfortunately, it resulted in Tseng, and possibly even Veld knowing of their legend's true fate. Reno, Hojo decided, had suddenly become a lot more dangerous.  _Even though he apparently can't be trusted with any little task of mine, I can still use him…_

He would have to be patient to wait for his true prize. Something deep in his intuition told him that his newest specimen would help him with his theories on Jenova and the Reunion. For this, his golden prize, he could wait, and be more….subtle.

* * *

Reno was flopped down on the couch, somewhat aways from his partner, who was drinking something mysterious from a cup. Probably alcohol, though the red-head had never actually seen the man drunk.

"Man, why do I have to keep an eye on Cloud? Cissnei taggin' Zack I get cause they're all chummy, but me? Seriously?" He complained, dramatically stretching out. It was somewhat of an order from Tseng, as he'd seen Reno's refusal to not get involved. This way, despite his outward appearance of not caring, Tseng would be the most informed of any of them.

"Implying you weren't going to already," was Rude's curt reply.

"That cut deep, man. Real deep." He lay an arm over his eyes. His partner was right, though. There was no way in hell he was going to let this go now, and he had no idea what was drawing him in so much. Reno had always loved mysteries, and his curiosity got him into trouble too many times to count-but why Cloud?

_It's like…he has this weird charisma that draws people to him. Not to make them like him, but to make them notice he exists._ And sadly, it was working really well. Did he really…like him?

Well, he was a lot less worse then most Shinra folks. Smart as a Turk to boot, despite the attitude.

"You're quite similar," Rude said, almost as if reading his thoughts. Then again, they were so in sync that sometimes Reno thought it  _did_ happen.

"Man, don't insult me like that by comparin' me to that trooper." The red-head raised himself up to glare over at the bigger man.

"Not a trooper."

"Right, right, he's a SOLDIER now, yo…" He waved his hand vaguely and settled back on the couch. What to do, what to do…there was no way that Hojo had forgotten about him, though Reno had done his best at avoiding the guy. Then again, he could rely on Rude to help if something bad happened, couldn't he? That's just how the Turks worked.

An icy knot settled in his stomach when he remembered that hadn't helped Vincent at all.  _No, I can't keep thinkin' like that. It ain't like me._

"Yo Rude."

The taciturn man turned towards him slightly, acknowledging the question.

"If something…happened, you'd come and help me, right?" It took every single ounce of energy he had to not have his voice crack.

"We are Turks."

"Man, what kind of lame-ass answer is that?" He sat up fully, staring straight at Rude.

"Is there a particular reason you are asking now?" Rude asked. Right. Only Tseng actually knew about the whole deal with Creep-show.

"Nah, not really. Just some freaky shit went down with you-know-what." Reno waved it away, hoping that Rude took it for the news about Vincent Valentine, not anything else. It probably hadn't worked, but hey, a man could hope.

Reno instead dedicated his energy into dozing off on the couch, missing his partner standing up and walking to another room to make a few calls.

* * *

Zack had laughed at the way Cloud already had all of his stuff packed already, but helped him carry it to the barracks anyway, despite the fact that it was very little stuff. When asked, Cloud merely shrugged and replied it was because he travelled light. And he didn't have friends or a sweetheart to receive gifts from. His mom could barely afford keeping her house, much less giving him anything that likened to a present.

Either way, they had made it to the SOLDIER barracks without any fuss, only passing by a couple personnel who all looked at him funny. Could this be what Zack had meant when he was under even bigger scrutiny?

Really, it was probably because Zack attracted so much attention. He really didn't know the meaning of the word subtle.

Now they had arrived outside of the door where he was to be bunking for the next month or so until the testing process started.

"Okay Cloud, so you missed out on a lot of training the other guys did, so we'll have to work really hard to make up for that, okay?" Zack said, setting down Cloud's bag right by his feet. The blonde cadet-how he loved that word-nodded, taking another deep breath.

"Don't worry, you can do it! You'll catch up in no time, just remember my advice. Don't back down, and don't let them get to you. And if you need any help, just ask me or Sephiroth," he continued, noting his friend's nerves.

"Would the General really help me?" The question sort of slipped out, since it was still hard for him to believe that Sephiroth of all people noticed his existence. Zack merely snorted, elbowing Cloud in the ribs.

"Sure. He's difficult about it, but he secretly cares. He personally signed my request to sponsor, I should THINK he's interested."

Cloud smiled weakly, still slightly disbelieving. Then again, the General had apologized to him, and seemed curious about his skills, and there was that weird event in the manor. It still freaked him out to think of it. Sephiroth was Sephiroth, and it was going to take a lot of time to get over that fact.

"Well thanks, anyway, but I'd like to think I can handle it by myself," He said softly. After all, if he couldn't deal with some bullies, what kind of SOLDIER would he make?

"I know. Just, the options there. You know I like to worry."

"No need to get all mother chocobo on me," Cloud said, cracking a real smile, to which Zack responded by putting the cadet in a headlock.

"Just for that, our first training session is extra hard!" The SOLDIER ruffled his hair for the last time, and settled him down in front of the door. "Okay, gotta go but you know what to do. Don't kill anyone too much!"

With a jaunty wave, Zack was off down the hallway, probably late for some appointment, or to meet with that girl he'd vaguely mentioned he was seeing below the plate. Cloud on the other hand, was back here in the best and worst place in the world.

_Time for my second chance,_ he thought, and reached over to the doorknob.

* * *

By the time Reno had woken up, Rude had disappeared from their apartment, probably on duty somewhere. The man never missed a beat, ever. Yawning, he sat up, combing his hair back from his head. The goggles he normally wore were on the table next to him, leaving most of the red locks to fall down in his face.

_Hmm, maybe I should grow out a ponytail like I've always said I would. It can't hurt any._ His random thoughts about his hair were drowned out by a weird scuffling at the door. Reno blinked. He certainly wasn't expecting any visitors today, unless it was another of those idiots trying to play a prank on him. Which was stupid because he still hadn't gotten some of the other Turks back for theirs yet.

Fingering the knife that he kept hidden in his sleeve, he nonchalantly slid over to the door, opening it.

"Look, man, could you keep it quiet? Some of us are trying to slee-" He broke off in a yell as he saw who it was outside.

"I see you're just as attentive to your duties as always," Professor Creep-show said, looming suddenly forward.

" _The hell, yo?_ What're you doin' here?!" Only the knowledge this was the head of the Science Department kept him from drawing his weapon right then and there. It didn't stop him from backing away several inches.

"To ask  _you_ why you could fail such a simple task of bringing that boy back to Shinra!" Hojo spat, thankfully staying in the doorway. "Useless, I say, just useless."

"Hey, he came back. I don't see how that's failin'. Now leave me the hell alone, you…" He bit that last sentence off.  _Fuck, me an' my big mouth gettin' me in trouble again._

Hojo seemed to not care about anything he said. Knowing the arrogance of that man, he probably really didn't.

"Come with me. We have a lot to discuss," The scientist said curtly.

"And if I don't?"

Reno knew from the look of Hojo's smile, he didn't even have to answer that one.

 


	14. A Demon in the Slums

There were a whole host of urban legends underneath the plate from ghost stories to superstitions, but this one was stranger then the most. It wasn't quite a legend, but a feeling many people got as they were walking through the various trash-filled alleys. They described it almost as if a creeping shadow was following them around and listening to every word they said. Some of the more daring ones said if you looked over you shoulder quickly enough, you could spot a pair of glowing red eyes.

However, it never seemed to harm anyone so most of the slum folk passed it off as a mere premonition, or perhaps the imagination of children gone a bit too far. Or maybe there really was a monster lurking in the shadows, feeding off the lonely dreams and thoughts of passerby. Either way, it passed with merely a shudder of the shoulders and a soft sound of fabric.

The shadow continued to linger on in the slums, dropping by whenever it heard people talking and everyone began to talk in huddles and peering behind them, afraid of something they couldn't see. But if anyone had actually bothered to look, they would see it vanish away in a flash of red and gold.

* * *

It took an entire week before Cloud decided he absolutely loathed almost every single one of the other cadets. He really didn't know why he expected anything different: perhaps being sponsored and having a second chance would've softened their anger but if anything, it had just made it worse. Like Zack had said, plenty of the new cadets, especially ones retrying for the next test, were jealous of his special attention.

"Didn't we hear about you, Strife? The pansy who couldn't even make it in last time? Why should you be the one to get all the extra attention?" Was a basic summary of what they said to him. Not in exact words of course, but that required more attention than he was willing to give to them.

Probably only the knowledge that he was friends with Zack Fair and Reno held them fully back from beating down on him like they did last year.

_Seriously, what about me pisses them off so much?_ Cloud asked himself as he resolutely scrubbed his hair dry with a towel. After a shower, it always stuck up in odd angles and shapes and combing just made it worse.  _I can't believe me being sponsored by Zack would generate this much attention._

He knew it wasn't all of that, really. He was still the runt of the crew and they were just jealous.

Slowly, he peeked into the room and saw that no one was there, deeming it was safe to come out. Cloud settled into the bed gratefully, every muscle in his body aching. The training they did before the tests was mostly to get them ready: heavy conditioning, training with swords and hand-to-hand, as well as introduction to materia, which was tomorrow. Oh, how he was looking forward to that one. It would be nice to show them up at least once.

Since he was sponsored by Zack, instead of normal sword lessons, he took those with the first class instead, who wasn't afraid to push him around. True to his word, he gave Cloud a broadsword to use and he seemed to be doing pretty okay for a beginner. It was awkward to get used to the extra weight and most of their first lessons were just practice with balance and footwork, but by the end of this week, Cloud was feeling more confidence in the one day he had to take with the other normal cadets.

He had a feeling that seeing the first-class regularly was the only thing keeping him sane, as there were no signs of any of his other friends. The only one he'd be able to talk to was Reno, who had been mysteriously scarce for the rest of the week, despite his promise to keep an eye out for Hojo. He visibly shuddered just thinking about that man, but it was something he'd have to face if he was ever to become SOLDIER. This was to become stronger for Zack and his friends.

His hand flopped down off the bunk and hit something hard and book-like. It was, in fact, a book. Cloud wrapped his fingers around it and lifted it up to find it was the same tome Sephiroth had given him with notes from his father.  _Right, I'd never got a chance to study this for real…_ With the shock of Genesis and Jenova, everyone seemed to have forgotten about the strange things found in the manor. The cadet flipped open to one of his favorite stories, the tale of Three Brothers, the one that had inspired LOVELESS. Cloud vaguely wondered if Genesis knew about this, but doubted so; he himself only knew because of his dad's notes on the original poem.

_Still, what significance does LOVELESS and these things have to do with the Cetra?_ Cloud skimmed through the pages to the back of the book, where he stopped suddenly. The picture on the opposing page was all black and gold, with glowing fire-red eyes. The way its wings spread out resembled…

"The Demon born of Chaos and Sin." Cloud whispered the words out in the caption on the picture. Wait a minute. Chaos? Wasn't that what…

"Wasn't that what Vincent called that thing inside of him?" He eagerly flipped to the next page. It detailed another story, how this demon was born of the bubbling chaos that existed in all humans and was fated to destroy them all. That is, until it was bound to another human who controlled it with a special magic power.  _This is way too close to be a coincidence._

He checked to see if his father had made any notes but was interrupted by the rest of the cadets. Not being lazy and not having any friends, Cloud always made it to the bunker first-plus it gave him some good free time. Quickly, he shoved the book under the thin mattress on his bed so they wouldn't find it and started playing with his sword.

Zack had insisted that he keep it with him at all times to get used to the weight and having it around, plus, it was a good deterrent for being messed with.

None of the others said anything as they passed by him other than a few rude bumps or shuffles, which he ignored. The cadets stayed here for a lot shorter time period, so there were about twelve to a room instead of just four, unfortunately. As they settled in all around him, being as loud as humanly possible, Cloud secretly entertained thoughts about summoning up a Firaga spell and watching them scream and run around in materia practice tomorrow.

"Oh shut up, I totally owned you in practice!" A few of them on the other bunks arrived in the middle of a conversation.

"Yeah, if you call that swordplay. That's more like cheating, dumbass." Fletcher, the biggest and nastiest of the bunch and the only one whom Cloud had bother learning the name of, mostly because he liked to try and shove him down a flight of stairs. He'd only succeeded once in that act, making Cloud wish he had a Cure materia to heal the bruises that Zack would no doubt question.

_I'll get him back for that one._

The blonde cadet highly doubted either of them had 'owned' each other because they relied on knocking around their strength more than anything, though Fletcher certainly was big enough for it to become effective.

The big guy had noticed him staring. "You got something you want to say, you little runt?!"

Cloud resisted the urge to say something extremely rude back at him, knowing how well that worked with him and Genesis, and merely stared blankly back at Fletcher. This seemed to unnerve him, seeing how he made a special show of coming over and shoving Cloud back onto his bed.

"Little kids who can't even spend time with the rest of us don't get to make comments," He said rudely, getting his cronies to laugh.

"What are you, like twelve?" Cloud snarled back before he could stop himself.

That got him and his buddies riled up and the blonde cadet took one look at them and forced his hurting legs to run, shoving his little storybook inside his pants pocket. There was no way he was staying around after that, they'd probably murder him or something.

* * *

He had planned on wandering around in the hallways until it was time for him to go train with Zack, but he hadn't planned on running into the man himself. Cloud turned the corner and nearly ran straight into his chest, startling the first class.

"Oh, Cloud hey there! How's it going?" Zack looked surprised for a moment then smiled widely at his newfound student. "I thought our meeting wasn't for another hour or so?"

His mentor had such a puppy face on that Cloud almost spilled about how terribly the others were treating him, but that was an issue the blonde cadet was going to deal with on his own.

"It's nothing, roomates were just being loud and stupid so I came out here instead," Cloud said nonchalantly. This was actually a blessing in disguise. Not only could he hang out with Zack some more, but also ask him about the strange things he read about in the book.

"Haha, I feel you man. Some of the cadets can be pretty lame. Just hang in there, you know. Soon you'll blow them all out of the water!" Zack laughed easily, slinging an arm around him and leading him down a hallway until they found a windowsill to sit on.

"Do you have anywhere to be?" Cloud asked him. It was weird how Zack had always managed to find time for him even if it was just randomly meeting him in the hallway. Did he really have free time or was he blowing off other stuff? Or was this a thing friends did?

"No? I mean, I got my session with you in an hour, don't I? Something wrong?" Zack's eyes looked down at him in concern and Cloud immediately scrunched up in his seat. He didn't want to complain at all about the other cadets. It really wasn't in good taste.

"Well, I was reading more of that book I found," the cadet said quickly, changing the subject. "And I found this odd part talking about something called a demon of chaos."

"Wait, Chaos? As in, you-know-who?" Zack waved his hand around in a circle and immediately lowered his voice. Cloud nodded, knowing what he was going for.

"Yeah. And it matched up really well with what we were told. And there's this picture…" He pulled the book out of his pocket, grateful that he'd thought to bring it with him and flopped it open to the page with the picture of the demon. Zack let out a quick breath, his eyes widening.

"Holy Minerva, that looks just like him!" He hissed.

Cloud merely stared at him.

"In the reactor-"The first class's voice dropped really low-"When that stuff I told you about happened, that's what it looked like, except…"

Cloud didn't know quite what Zack was going for but being bound to Vincent, he figured the creature would probably look somewhat different. This just confirmed his suspicions that the being, Chaos, the one he had spoken briefly to, had been mentioned in his book.

"But why would it be in a story book? I mean I know he's old but he's not that old! Check the publication date," Zack ordered, trying to get another peek. Unwilling to let anyone else touch it, he merely shifted the book away and turned to the front cover.

"Wow, it's like over 50 years old," he said, reading the small text.

"So that book was around  _before_ he uhhh, got stuck there?" Zack asked, boggled.

"Yeah. That means this story isn't based on him. Then again, Chaos seemed a lot older than 20 years." Cloud tugged at a few strands of his hair. What exactly did this mean, if there was a legend of a monster that Vincent was possessed with, before the man had ever been in the Turk program? If their estimate of his age was correct, of course.

"What does it say about the legend?" Zack asked the same question he was thinking.

"Just that Chaos is a demon born of well, chaos and human sin, and he is made to destroy all of humanity in the name of the Planet, had it not been for the fact he'd been bound to a human soul. A human soul with the power to tame him," Cloud said.

"You know, it would help if that guy actually opened up and told us what happened so we could figure it out…" Zack grumbled, clearly lamenting Vincent's lack of social skills.

"Do you have any way of contacting him to tell him of this?" He looked up at the first class, who still had a thoughtful look on his face.

"Not me, but Sephiroth does. I'll tell him to relay a message somehow. I think he should know about this." Zack stood up, in serious mode for once. "And we need to find a better place to talk. Out in the open like this, who knows who is listening."

Cloud sighed and nodded slowly. He knew it was probably a mistake bringing it up, but the mystery was eating away at him inside. "Sorry. Didn't know who else to tell."

Zack waved his worries away. "No, no, it's not your fault just, you know…."

"The walls have ears."

"Yeah…"

Neither of them liked where this was going, and it just brought up more questions than answers. Stuck in the middle of Shinra HQ, they didn't have the freedom to discuss their problems openly. It was something that had to be resolved soon, or their plan wasn't going to work.

"Hey, since you're here, and I'm here, why don't we head down to the training room and get an early start?" Zack said, suddenly smiling again, probably trying to lift Cloud's spirits.

"Yeah, that'd be great, but I left my sword back at the bunk and I don't really want to go back in there to get it…" Cloud said uncomfortably.

"No problem, we can just borrow one from storage, since you weren't expecting it." Zack bounced up and down a little bit. "Hey, hey, I hear that every Saturday your sword-training sessions don't get taken over by me and you get to go in with the normal kids!"

"Yes…" Which is exactly what Cloud was dreading because the normal kids were the ones who liked beating him into a pulp.

"We train extra hard, and you can beat the crap out of them that day so then they'll leave you alone!" Zack pumped his fist in the air, while Cloud just stared up at him.

"How did you know?" He was baffled.

"Cloud, I'm not dumb. I know what you said happened last time. And its clearly happening again. And I know, you're too proud and you want to deal with it on your own, but you really don't understand how friends work." Zack's friendly aura was enveloping him again, making him feel terrible for leaving out information. "They protect each other. So I'm gonna help you."

"I…" Cloud really couldn't say anything to that but horrifyingly felt the sting of tears in his eyes. What was that about, that was terrible! He couldn't cry, especially not in front of Zack! Hurriedly blinking everything away, and swallowing the growing pain in his throat, he focused on looking at a point around his friends shoulder.

"Okay," He said finally, and thankfully his voice didn't crack. "I want to beat them up."

Zack smiled again, which seemed to light up the whole world. "Great, just what I wanna hear! Let's mosey!"

* * *

After gathering a spare broadsword and kicking an unfortunate second class out of one of the training rooms, Zack and Cloud got to work.

"Okay, at the level you're at in cadet training, you guys are still learning basic moves and drills rather than free-form dueling, if I recall correctly." Zack thought for a moment, then shrugged.

_I would think that kind of information would be important!_ Except Cloud didn't say that out loud, just let him keep going.

"You've already shown signs of being good at improvising movements based on how monsters act, but humans are a bit different. They're smarter," Zack said, settling himself into an easy stance. Cloud merely raised an eyebrow.

"That last sentence is debatable," He replied dryly.

Zack immediately burst out laughing and had to take a few moments to recover himself.

"I'm just…oh man, that was a good one!" He said, still attempting to compose his breathing. "Yeah, you're absolutely right. But lets just assume all of your opponents are smarter than the average goblin, okay?"

Cloud nodded, still grinning, and both of them broke off into laughter again before they could get anything useful done.

"Okay, okay, we really need to focus…" He said through his deep breaths. A minute or so later, and Cloud and Zack were ready to go.

"Okay, just come at me. I want to see how well you do just sparring, okay? Then we'll go over the drills you're going to need," Zack said, raising his own broadsword in defense. Cloud swallowed nervously for a little bit, never actually having fought another person with a sword in more than drills before, but did as he said.

He lunged out at the first class, who parried his blade easily. Leaping back, he briefly wondered if Zack's advice during hand-to-hand would help him out, but didn't get any more chance to think before Zack attacked. He was thankful the first class wasn't using his full strength, but he had a hard time dodging Zack's swipes until he learned to read which direction he was striking from the angle of his body.

His blows were slow and steady, so after Zack's sword whistled over his head, Cloud lashed out horizontally at the first class's ribcage. The SOLDIER leaped back a little bit, bringing his sword back to counterattack, using his sword to barely block in time. He would've used his arm as a brace, but he didn't have the armored gauntlets like SOLDIERs did and it was knocked away easily.

"Nice job so far," Zack said, flicking his sword away from Cloud's neck, "But why didn't you block that last blow?"

"I did, I just don't have anything on my wrists." He held them up to show the red line where he tried to brace the sword. Zack smacked a hand on his head.

"Dammit, I'm sorry, I forgot they don't give cadets proper equipment. Really sorry…" Zack looked horribly apologetic.

"No, it's fine. It's not your fault, really," Cloud reassured him. "We'll get there eventually."

"I'm still sorry, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. We can just keep going," the blonde cadet said, somewhat annoyed with Zack's insistence on making sure he was unhurt.

"Okay…well, you seem to have gotten down that you can see what way an opponent is attacking by watching their body, but what's more important too is watching their feet. Let's spar again, you do what feels natural, but this time, watch my feet to see which way to go." Zack prepared himself again for attack.

Cloud did so, ducking around his sword and striking in closer, trying to keep his eyes on his feet to see which way his sword would go. It worked for the first couple blows and Cloud was able to block, but he made a rookie mistake: he paid too much attention to his feet and as a reward, got whacked on the side of the head.

"Ow!" He jumped away, bringing his left hand up to massage the spot.

"Jeez Cloud, you don't stare at them the entire fight! You okay?" Zack asked, concerned. The cadet merely nodded, inwardly berating himself. There were so many things to be aware of that he couldn't focus on any of them and lost his concentration. It was overwhelming, having to pay attention to so many things at once.

"Okay, if you say so. The trick is to train yourself to notice it all at once so you can do it without thinking. So its ingrained in your brain, you see?" Zack poked at his head, trying to make Cloud feel better.

"How'd you learn to do it?" He asked, sort of curious. Zack seemed like a flawless swordsman.

"Very, very painfully. Angeal wasn't very…gentle, I should say." He grinned sheepishly. "Come on, lets keep trying for a little bit longer and then we can just review and be done, okay?"

The cadet nodded again, sort of wishing Zack wouldn't go easy on him. Then again, he really didn't need the added injuries and the welt on his face still stung. Cloud steadied his grip on his broadsword, which was starting to feel like it weighed a ton, his already tired arm muscles protesting, and then stepped out to attack again.

For someone who had so little training with a sword, he supposed he was doing pretty well against a first class soldier. Still, he was frustrated. His sword didn't reach out far enough, his arms being too short and he lacked the endurance to keep up more than a few blows at once. He had long ago switched to the strategy of dodging, only blocking when Zack's sword got too close. His mentor was swinging slow enough that he could see the blows coming, but Cloud was so short he kept staring at his arms and neck, letting him get knocked over by an easy kick from the SOLDIER.

"Okay, okay, that's enough." Zack held up a hand as Cloud scrambled up again. The blonde was breathing heavily, beads of sweat dropping down his face, and his arm muscles were trembling from holding the broadsword upright for so long. Not complaining for right now, he merely stumbled over to the side and collapsed on a bench.

_I don't think I've gotten stronger at all…_ he thought, dejected. Sure, today would only make it the second week, but Cloud couldn't see any improvement from last year. In fact, he just felt even more tired and weaker. The bench shook slightly as Zack came and flopped down next to him. The larger man-teen?-was barely even breaking a sweat, something he was very envious of.

"Don't look so depressed, you're doing really well so far," Zack said, smiling easily, once again hitting the nail on the head. Cloud had always known his friend was smarter than he let on but he'd forgotten just how perceptive Zack could be, especially when it came to emotions.

"You say that, but I can't see it at all.." He said, holding up a trembling hand. "I mean, all we've been doing is just drills and random sparring."

Cloud thought Zack might get angry at him for complaining like this, but instead he looked thoughtful.

"Well, " the first class said, turning towards his student, "In the beginning, that's all you're supposed to do. Boring, dull, drone work. It's the basics."

"Think of it like this," Zack continued. "You can have all the amazing flashy moves and skills of the highest first class SOLDIER there is, but you'll lose every single fight with a sword if you don't know how to defend yourself. It's boring, it's stupid, and it's necessary."

"I…yeah, sorry…"he muttered, staring at the floor. It wasn't that he was doubting Zack's method, just he didn't feel like it was doing any good. "Am I…doing any better? At all?"

"You kidding me? For someone who had no previous training with a sword, you're doing great! Seriously, like I said before, you're a natural, and not many of those cadets could pull off what you did to that monster that attacked us," Zack said agreeably.

"Then why do I feel so terrible at everything right now?" He asked. He beat the crap out of the safe monster. This should be easy.

"Because real-time battles and training are two completely different situations. You never had time to think about what you were about to do against that monster. You just did it, and those are the moments you're at your best." Zack suddenly grabbed onto Cloud's hair in what was probably supposed to be an affectionate way. "You keep overthinking everything when you're fighting against me."

"Ow, ow, stop that!" He pulled away from Zack's assault on his spikes, but it had worked. He was smiling now and definitely feeling less like a freak.

"Doesn't help when you say look at your feet, then look at your sword at the same time," Cloud said, trying to tease his friend back. He immediately regretted saying that when he saw a flash of uncertainty and fear cover Zack's face, though it was gone as quickly as it came.

"Use your peripheral vision, you idiot!" The older first class nudged at Cloud, who, knowing how affectionate his mentor was, moved away quickly.

"Right, easy for you to say when a sword is flying at your head." The cadet flexed his fingers. His muscles seemed to have calmed down for now, though they were still feeling a bit noodle-like. The broadsword was great and he liked it more than using those small ones Zack had got him, but at the same time, he missed the speed and versatility of the double swords. If there was only a way he could combine the two…

"Hey Zack, is it possible to dual-wield broadswords?" He asked suddenly.

Zack just stared at him in return. "Cloud, you're not seriously thinking-"

"Uhhh, no. Reno just had mentioned it at one point," He lied quickly, throwing his friend under the bus. After all, it did sound like something Reno  _would_ come up with.

"Well I suppose you could but it would take a load of training and I wouldn't recommend it at all until you got enhancements. Like wielding a buster sword," Zack said, still staring at him suspiciously. Cloud's willpower crumbled under his friends gaze and he figured he'd have to do something else.  _Except maybe if I become a real SOLDIER, i can do that._ It sounded like an idea crazy enough to intimidate anyone.

"Wait, speaking of Reno, have you seen him around?" Cloud asked, a little surprised the red-head hadn't bothered him recently. He could be on duty, but with Tseng and the Turks working with them the best they could, he figured that Reno would at least say  _something._

"Actually, no. I haven't. Which is kinda weird because I heard from Cissnei he was supposed to stick around you…"Zack tapped his chin with his finger. "Okay, that's something else I'll go ask about, okay?"

"Yeah." Cloud did not want to admit it on any level but he was definitely worried for the red-headed Turk, especially with Hojo on the loose. His overactive imagination kicked in and-no, he wasn't going to go there. Reno would definitely just show up a day later, mocking him for even caring.

"Can we go over the normal drills a few times before we pack up?" He asked hurriedly, trying to distract both of them.

"Yeah, of course. We still got some time left." Both of them stood, done with resting and made their way over to the floor, preparing for the next attack.

* * *

Zack nearly drove Cloud into the ground going over the drills-man, for holding back, he hit HARD-before he had to leave and inform Sephiroth of their new information. After telling him to keep an eye out, the first class vanished, leaving Cloud to his own thoughts. He knew he should head back to the barracks and see if he could again slip in before anyone noticed him-not quite likely, as he had practice after them-but wanting to put off the inevitable, Cloud took to wandering the hallways instead.

He'd met several very interesting people along the way and it was a great way to pick up spare bits of information he wouldn't hear anywhere else. So far he'd seen several seconds and thirds, a couple of Turks he didn't recognize, Zack himself, and a very harried looking man who, when later described to said SOLDIER, was introduced to him as a certain Reeve Tuesti.

Today however, was nearing a weekend, and the hallways were more bare than usual, with only a few business-looking people giving him a couple odd stares as he went by.  _Seriously, its not MY fault my hair attracts so much attention…_ Because that was clearly the reason everyone was staring at him.

That's why it was strange when Cloud saw a Turk that looked vaguely familiar walking towards his direction. He was even taller than Tseng, with a shaved head and dark, reflective sunglasses. The man had a calm and dangerous air about him, but despite his size, did not seem to be that intimidating. Perhaps he was off duty, then.

Despite meeting Reno for the first time in Nibelheim, he  _had_ heard of the Turk before, and if he recalled correctly, Reno had a partner, Rude. And this man right here matched the description. He couldn't be sure, as he hadn't talked to Reno for much more than the mission, but he remember the red-head vaguely mentioning him at times. And if they were partners…

"Uh, excuse me." Cloud had no idea what he was doing, but the Turk didn't seem out to kill him. The man turned slightly towards him, but said nothing. It was unnerving, not being able to see his eyes, but Cloud continued on.

"I….you are Reno's partner, aren't you?" He asked.

The man-Rude-nodded.

"Oh. Okay. I'm Cloud Strife and well…I haven't seen Reno around for awhile and I don't know if anything happened to him or not," Cloud said quickly. This was really, really awkward, and he didn't know how much Rude knew about what had gone on in Nibelheim. How did partners in the Turks work anyway?

That seemed to be news for the larger man, as his arms shifted slightly away from their controlled position. And he spoke for the first time. "You haven't?"

"Uh, no. And I was under the impression he was also keeping…" Cloud looked around the hallway, "tabs on me?" At least, that was another thing Zack had mentioned.

Rude did not say anything, but he still stayed frozen in that position, long enough to make Cloud uncomfortable. Sure, Vincent hadn't really talked much, but that was mostly because Cloud couldn't see him.

"I was just, wondering. Sorry. I'll go now," He finished awkwardly, pointing the other direction.

"Thank you," The Turk said before the cadet turned around, earning him a surprised glance. "I will look for him."

With that, and a brisk motion, Rude vanished down the hallway, leaving Cloud's mood in an even worse shape than before. If his own partner didn't know where Reno was, then where had he gone?

Suddenly, Cloud didn't want to be wandering around in the middle of the open anymore.

* * *

There were rumors of AVALANCHE gravitating all around the slums, but each person seemed to have a different story. A whisper here, a soft exchange of words elsewhere, all leading its way back to one shadow who listened in the dark.

The consensus, it seemed, was that AVALANCHE was going through some sort of change of leaders, or at least it was highly contested. Vincent had heard from another man down in Sector 3 that Rufus Shinra was involved with them, which made a surprising amount of sense, if Shinra's son was just as power-hungry as his father was.

The more disturbing fact was when two people gossiping behind a scrapyard had made mention of Veld, his old partner. AVALANCHE was not around in Vincent's time and he did not know much of their origins or schemes, nor did he care, but Veld…what would Veld be doing involved with a terrorist group?

Time had travelled too quickly while he had been in the coffin, and every single piece of conversation he picked up was evidence of this. The scraps of new technology and weapons he saw filtering around, the mention of the Wutaiian War-though that had probably been inevitable-even the manners in which everyone spoke were different. Vincent felt lost, and it was a sensation he loathed. He was after all, a former Turk. Even a monster such as he was, it was no reason to be this sloppy in his job.

Unfortunately, the slums did not seem a very good place to gather information. While there was less security-he'd only seen one or two wandering troopers so far-most of the information people passed along was rumor at best. Instead, he used the time to catch up on current events and explore the slums. In this mission, Vincent had discovered two things: a man called Don Corneo could be connected to Shinra in some way and probably had a ton of information the former Turk wanted, but where he'd set up base was the loudest and flashiest part of Wall Market, and despite any measure of stealth, Vincent would have to reveal himself to break in there.

The second thing was a very strange church in the Sector 5 slums, where he was headed now. It was said by many people that that church was the only place flowers grew, tended by a girl who lived there. It wasn't so much the flowers that drew Vincent, but a strange whispering in his mind he sure was Chaos again. The other three monsters that took up residence normally didn't wake unless he was emotional-which was never-or ready to battle-so it couldn't have been anyone else. He knew from experience that Chaos, however bloodthirsty and wild he was, was attracted to the Planet and Lifestream and this was the only place in the slums that seemed alive.

A few pieces of sunlight drifted gently down to illuminate the wooden rafters of the church, as a strange, soft breeze flowed by, whipping his cape around. Yes, this was what he had felt…in his dreams, his nightmares, he'd often dreamed of the Lifestream and it too was radiating from this building.

Making no noise, Vincent slowly walked forward, his golden fingers curling around the edges of the door and pushing it open. A draft of air blew out, scented by a faint smell of flowers.  _How odd…_

Could he get any answers about his condition here? Or for that matter, Cloud's or Sephiroth's? He did not trust any paper written by that mad scientist to tell him facts.

He was not alone.

His opening the door had disturbed a brown-haired girl standing over the flowers. She quickly turned around and stared at him curiously, and Vincent wondered why he did not just vanish. This church, it seemed, felt safe to him.

"Hello, my name is Aerith," she said, smiling. "And who might you be?"

* * *

This Friday was special, because this Friday, after their normal exercises and conditioning, they got to do materia testing for the first time. Or, if you were a former dropout like Cloud, second time. It was normally a session of chaos and high frustration, combined with things occasionally randomly exploding, though Cloud was trying to avoid that this time. His plan was to show the other cadets up, but not by  _that_ much. He certainly didn't need a repeat of the safe monster battle.

Every single muscle in his body still hurt because of Zack's training and all the exercises required and for a moment, he wasn't sure if he could get up. The other cadets yelling at each other, though was motivation enough for him. He certainly wasn't going to get left behind. Cloud forced himself up and moving, getting blood flowing through his dead limbs. Every movement was painful, but it was the good type of pain. The type that told him he was going to be strong. After of course, he turned into a pile of noodles on the floor.

The morning was uneventful, if less harrowing than usual, since materia required physical energy and they didn't want to exhaust the cadets too much so they wouldn't be able to cast-Cloud didn't know if that worked for him. Being in a solid week of muscle pain did that to a person.

There were the customary threats and bets being placed, and as much as Cloud shrunk down to avoid the others, they still found him.

"Hey, I wanna see what the little chocobo here can do," Fletcher said nastily, pulling up next to him in the hallway. Clearly, he had thought for several minutes to come up with that insult. The blonde cadet merely attempted to ignore him by fingering the Odin materia in his pocket.

_Do you wish for me to crush these mortals?_ The stone asked.

_No, not yet. I want to do that myself._ He answered back, as if it were perfectly normal to talk to summon spirits.

"No, I think chocobo-head's gonna squawk, like a baby!" One of the other cronies puffed out his lips and made a ridiculous face, earning a few laughs. Fletcher himself slung an arm around Cloud's shoulder, but unlike Zack, it was anything but friendly and comforting.

"Come on, the other guys are starting a bet to see who fucks up with materia first. My bet's of course, on you, the little chick." Fletcher breathed in Cloud's ear and he desperately wished he'd asked Zack how to flip someone over his shoulder.

"Remove your arm," Was all he said. Saying anything more to a bully would just give him what he wanted and Cloud had enough of that. Said arm merely tightened a little and was not going away. This was starting to get bad, but the only consolation was that practice started in 15 minutes and he could easily get away to that.

"Why should I listen to you? You gonna do what, singe my eyebrows off? I've heard of you. Last year you were in this program and you sucked as much as any loser would. Just cause you're sponsored by a SOLDIER doesn't mean you get to have a big head about everything," He sneered.

"I don't! I-" Cloud bit off the rest of the sentence but the damage had been done. He'd shown he was angry about that statement. The arm tightened so he was almost strangling the smaller cadet.

"Sure you don't. But a runt like you ain't going to get far, no matter how many SOLDIERs he….convinces." Fletcher laughed and he and his buddies took off, leaving Cloud in the dust. What the hell had they meant by that? Did they mean…

_Oh, for the love of the Goddess, they did not._ If Fletcher had been doing anything about implying he bribed Zack of all people to take him on, there was going to be hell to pay. How  _dare_ they sully Zack's name with that! He didn't even care that they thought he was too weak he'd resort to something low-handed like that. Zack would never do anything like take a bribe, and being so nice to offer him such a good chance to regain his ground, Zack, who was so noble to keep going on to save his friends despite all the trauma he'd been put through, Zack, the man who embodied the honor of SOLDIER…

**_How dare they._ **

* * *

He arrived at materia screening, as they called it, led by an extremely irate SOLDIER-and a supervising scientist-who seemed to want to be anywhere but here. There was a table set up in the middle of the room with an iron box, filled with gently glowing green orbs. They were the materia they were going to be working with, and if he remembered correctly, none of them were past level one.

_Well at least, I might avoid another Firaga incident,_ Cloud thought to himself, still burning with anger. He was dearly glad that he'd unequipped the summon materia he had earlier-in his emotional state, instead of casting the magic he was supposed to, he might've accidentally summoned Odin and that would've been messy, to say the least.

"All right, you ingrates line up down here! I know some of you are here again from last year, but I don't care!" The SOLDIER yelled like a drill sergeant. "You're all getting the same talk, because materia is a precious resource that is not to be wasted on idiots like you!"

Turning sharply towards the box, the third class pulled out a two of the stones and held them in each hand. "Now, I don't expect or care if you know this, but this is what materia looks like! Green is attack and elemental, purple means support, yellow means extra abilities, and red are summons!"

After each one was announced, the SOLDIER pulled out another stone to showcase each different type, except for the summons. Which was understandable, seeing how they were rare, powerful, and hard to control. The Odin materia trembled in his pocket, but Cloud ignored it for now.

"Green is the most common, and the stuff you're going to be tested with today! The others will only be used if you idiots ever make it into the SOLDIER program, and don't even think about summons!" Their teacher yelled having been in front of the blonde cadet, and Cloud involuntarily jumped. Fletcher snickered somewhere down the line and all of his anger came rushing back. He could sense the materia calmly waiting to be unleashed in the crate, which was starting to worry him. He'd always been aware of the stones in a way few others seemed to be, but recently it had gotten worse.  _Add that one to the list of things that are wrong with me…I need to focus._

And focus he did, since the SOLDIER began handing out a single green materia to each of them, and bracers to anyone stupid enough to not bring theirs. That was a thing he had to actually thank Angeal for. After Zack let him keep the Fire materia, the older man had given him a spare bracer that no longer fit him, though it was pretty big on Cloud's wrist.

He slotted the materia into his bracer easily, secretly laughing at how some of the others struggled. So much for all their bad talk. Times really had changed since last year, when he'd been doing the exact same thing. When he was just as bad…now Cloud felt terrible for laughing.

"You all have it equipped? GOOD. Maybe not all of you are hopeless! The principle to casting materia is to focus your body's energy into the materia and visualize what it is you want to happen! It is essentially grabbing energy and pushing it outward. Most of you will get nothing more than a few sparks or flares, but power is not the point." He stopped right in front of Cloud again and yelled in his face. "The POINT IS TO MAKE IT WORK. That is what today is for."

Cloud had frozen up when the man had stopped in front of him, and then slowly relaxed, breathing out. Was the SOLDIER just picking on him for no reason, or was he just that unlucky? Probably both. Last year he knew the reason they were attempting materia this early was to see if any of them were significant casters and note it down in their profiles, and practice for the tests.  _Now to see if the safe monster incident was really a fluke or no_ t.

Their instructor informed them they were to cast out,  _away_ from each other, and see if they could produce any results, which, he repeated, he doubted they actually could. The casting part was easy for Cloud as he'd done it against the safe monster several times and Zack had showed him in the cave. But he was nervous and nervous was never good in combination with magic.

He looked over at the line and most everyone else was attempting to cast, but not getting anything much more than a few sparks or a puff of icy air. They'd all been given low-level elementals-no Earth materia, definitely-to work with. A couple of them managed to actually produce a low-level result, and he could hear the scientist scribbling away over in the corner.

He sighed and looked down at his own materia. Cloud couldn't do anything that outrageous for fear of the Science Department, but it had to be something to impress the other cadets enough. He'd gotten a Blizzard materia this time so at least no giant fireballs.

He concentrated, sensing the materia and focusing on unleashing its power.  _You're only a level one? Show me what you've got._

Cloud opened his eyes and and thrust out his hand, a shimmering crystal appeared in the air and shattered, scattering flakes of ice downward. A nice Blizzard spell. He glanced sideways and started when he realized all the other cadets were staring at him.

"…What?" He said, far too innocently. Sure, he was expecting some sort of reaction, but nothing like this. Fletcher was giving him a murderous glare from across the room, interrupted by the SOLDIER instructor quickly rushing over.

"Well, it looks like one of you has brains after all. That was a perfectly executed Blizzard spell, cadet!" The SOLDIER was still yelling, but at least he was being nice about it now. "What's your name?"

"Cloud Strife, sir," He said, trying his very best to not smirk. The SOLDIER turned back to the rest of the company.

"Well, it seems Cloud Strife here has accomplished what the rest of you could not: actually being competent at something! I hope the rest of you can follow this example!" He stalked off down the line. Fletcher was now staring daggers into Cloud's face and he couldn't help it. He smiled and winked, much as he'd seen Reno do a thousand times.  _That's what you get for thinking I bribed my way in._

He was surprised the other cadet didn't explode on the spot, given how angry he was but Cloud just turned away before he could get himself into any more trouble. This was probably a terrible idea, antagonizing him, but he was sick and tired of being the one bullied. It felt good to get back at him.

His success had somehow actually inspired the other cadets who weren't pissed off at him and a few more of them got better results for their effort. Cloud on the other hand, just practiced trying spells. Casting was no problem anymore-it never really was after the first one-but he was having trouble controlling the strength: he'd either push it out in a quick burst, or the spell would sputter out too soon. His endurance was terrible, too, and it wasn't just from his aching muscles; he could only cast a few low level blizzard spells before his energy began to lag.  _Just like in sword fighting…_

Well, at least this was one class he was better than everyone else.

Eventually, the shouting SOLDIER wrapped up the class, saying he'd seen enough and that maybe not all of them were hopeless losers. He went to confer with the scientist in the corner, ignoring the cadets and a sudden chill crept into Cloud's stomach.

He turned around and sure enough, Fletcher and his merry band were creeping up on him, materia still equipped.  _Okay, really, really not good._ Cloud backed away involuntarily, only causing them to smirk and shuffle a bit quicker.

"So maybe we were wrong about you, chocobo," Fletcher hissed, as if that was supposed to insult him. He was more wary of the tone of voice than anything else. "Anything else you want to show off?"

Cloud didn't say anything. He really couldn't. All he had was a blizzard materia- _no, not you Odin!-_ on his side.

"The guy's distracted. You don't mind if we borrow you for a little practice, do you?" Fletcher grinned, and Cloud knew he was in huge trouble.

* * *

_The story of the Demon of Chaos and Sin is very strange indeed. I tried reading it to my son once, but he got so scared, he slept with the lights on for a week. In reality, I wonder if it is truly a story at all. In other accounts, I have heard mention of a life-form known as Chaos, created as a herald to something called Omega. Born of chaos and sin, much like the story describes him._

_I wonder then, if this creature exists and where it ended up. These stories in the back of the book don't seem to be stories at all, but rather descriptions of characters. They don't seem to be from any story I have read, so either it has been lost to time, or they are characters in a tale yet to be told._

_\- The Demon of Chaos and Sin_

_from the files of Uther Strife_


	15. Ice Physics

Reno blinked his eyes open, vision blurry for a moment. Yawning loudly, he sat up and found himself on the couch in his room he shared with Rude. What the…when did he get here? Well whatever, Reno wasn't going to question it. Looking around for his partner, he found signs that he'd been here recently, possibly just stepped out of the room.

He went into the bathroom to splash some water on his face, staring at himself in the reflection. Ever since Hojo had come back to visit his room, he'd felt weird. Professor Creep-show had dragged him to his lab and proceeded to question him thoroughly about the events of the Nibelheim mission and Reno had been as vague as possible. He'd also asked for any signs that Cloud Strife was more special then he let on, finally confirming his and Tseng's suspicions that Hojo tampered with his file. Again, Reno was as vague as possible, until Hojo had gotten angry at him, after which he'd proceeded to pretend to be on his side.

Playing double-agent to Creep-show of all people was a really bad idea but Reno had no choice if he wanted to live. Luckily, the scientist couldn't tell it was misinformation he was feeding him-Reno had told the man he'd fought the Lost Number, Cloud had just helped.

A dangerous game only a Turk could play. They were trained to not give up any information no matter the circumstances but he was very certain one of those circumstances was never being forced by Hojo to talk or he'd turn you into something horrible.

He'd at least thought he'd done a good enough job of covering up the truth. Sure, now Hojo knew about Jenova's release, but he suspected the crazy man had already foreseen that. Genesis was never mentioned, nor was Vincent Valentine. Reno could tell Hojo knew more than he was letting on, so they were both even. The question was why he was even bothering.

That wasn't the weird part. The weirdest part was the fact that he couldn't remember ever getting to his room and waking up on the couch. Had he suddenly gone out and gotten drunk? It certainly didn't feel like that, he'd have much worse of a hangover. Reno looked around for any clues, yawning again when the door to their apartment opened and Rude appeared.

"Oh hey, partner, how's it goin'?" Reno waved, stopping short at the expression on Rude's face.

"Reno, where have you been?" There was an uncharacteristic note of panic in his partner's voice.

"Uh, just around? Man, what's gotten into ya?" Now he was starting to feel uneasy, since Rude was almost never this expressive.

"Where. Have. You. Been." Rude grabbed the shorter Turk by the shoulders and Reno froze in his tracks.

"I-I-it's been like a day since I've been gone, man, you miss me that much?" Dear Minerva in heaven, what was going on? Rude stayed like that for a minute, then let him go roughly. Normally, the red-head would just shake it off and laugh, but his partner's reaction disturbed him greatly. How much Tseng had told everyone else, he didn't know, but he had been sure Rude at least vaguely knew of the circumstances with Hojo.

Rude wasn't looking at him.

"Rude, what is it, yo?" He asked, trying to get answers.

"Hojo came to see you." It wasn't a question, just a statement. The larger man was still turned away.

_How in the Planet's name did he know that?_

"Yeah," He said in reply. There was more silence for a few moments after, until Rude drew another breath.

"Reno, you've been missing for a week."

* * *

Fletcher and his buddies did not seem friendly at all, but he kind of got that from day one. What Cloud was now worried about was how he was going to deal with all of them at once without getting anyone into trouble. He could just let them attack and not fight back, blaming them for everything, but his pride wouldn't take it, and he could get seriously hurt.

A couple of the kids were holding back oddly, looking less than pleased with the prospect of attacking the small cadet. He remembered them; like Cloud, they usually got picked on, except they had the advantage of being bigger and sucking up to the bullies so they wouldn't get hurt. He really didn't blame them that much for doing so, but they weren't the important ones here. Fletcher was.

"You really don't want to do this," he tried to warn them, only partly bluffing. Cloud didn't know how much he'd be able to get out of just an Ice1 materia, but if the safe monster-the Lost Number-was any example, he might just accidentally freeze them solid. And there was Odin to deal with; there was no way in hell he was summoning him, but who knew what would happen if he got angry.

_Wierd how I'm suddenly scared of being too powerful…_

"You trying to bluff your way out? You know, that only works if you can back it up." Fletcher grinned, his Fire materia starting to glow. Unfortunately, he'd been one of the cadets who'd gotten better at casting by the end of class- _just my luck!-_ and apparently was going to use that newfound skill now.

"I'm seriously warning you," he said, his voice strained, which just made the rest of the cadets laugh. Apparently Zack was right- they seemed to hate his guts because he was specially chosen and decided to take out their frustrations of the cadet program on the easiest target.

"You have no right to complain." Fletcher said, causing Cloud to turn to him while another of his friends swung a fist at his head. Not expecting it, it hit him right in the temple and he was knocked backwards into the wall, pain exploding all over the right side of his face. He desperately brought his arms up to guard against further blows, but that was when Fletcher decided to use his materia.

Cloud blinked the blurriness out of his eyes only to find his left arm was on fire. It only took a moment for the pain to register but he let out a startled cry, desperately trying to stem the flames, but beating at them only made it worse. He was dimly aware of the other cadets surrounding him laughing, but that wasn't the problem here. It was burning, and he needed to get it out  _now_ but the fire was magical and kept getting worse-

_Use me, use me!_

_The Blizzard materia, lord!_

Both Odin and the Ice materia he was wielding seemed to shout at once, cutting through his panic. How could he forget he had his own materia? The green stone on his wrist glowed, and an icy crystal formed around his left arm, shattering and dousing the flames in one puff of cold air. Cloud breathed out heavily, suddenly aware of the trickle of blood coming down from the newly forming bruise on his face and the horrible stinging sensation in his arm.

_The materia…they spoke to me…even the Blizzard._ Odin he could see, for the red stone contained a summon, but even the other ones? He'd heard that materia was crystallized mako and mako in its own way was alive, but….

"What the..?" Cloud looked briefly up at the shocked and angry faces of all the cadets who had surrounded him. Briefly he noted the same two were holding back, still looking less than pleased, but his focus was quickly stolen again.

"Are you just fucking around with us? You can just do whatever you want 'cause Zack Fair is your friend? You're pathetic, why the hell would he like someone like you?!" The bigger boy snarled at him.

Cloud's head snapped up and he narrowed his eyes. Fletcher was treading into dangerous territory, but he didn't seem to notice the change in the smaller cadet.

"Oh right, that's probably because he doesn't. So what did you have to do to get your way in, you weak little-" Fletcher never got to finish that sentence because Cloud finally snapped. He couldn't take any more abuse from these fakers, and he certainly wasn't going to allow them to sully Zack's name.

"Shut UP!" He yelled, the Ice materia on his wrist glowing. The cadets, sensing something was about to happen, all started rushing him but it was far too late. He brought his hand close to his chest, gathering energy and then just like with the safe monster, let the magic out in a wave, ice crystals falling from the sky and shattering. Everything was glowing blue, and the materia on his wrist shattered again, sending a shooting pain up his arm. He suddenly winced, doubling over, unable to see the rest of his spell carried out.

The pain vanished as quickly as it came and he looked up again. There were a few frost sparkles in the air, but it had mostly cleared, revealing the path of destruction. A lot of the cadets had been knocked backwards on the floor, snow sprinkled on their uniforms, and the closer ones were unlucky and their feet were frozen solid. Fletcher was one of these, though the ice had crawled up his legs even further, and he was staring at Cloud with shock and fear.

"Like I said, don't mess with me," he said, staring the bigger boy down. "And don't you dare insult my friends like that."

Apparently the SOLDIER third and scientist had heard the commotion and rushed inside the room, yelling at the other cadets.  _Shit, how am I going to explain this one?_

"What the HELL happened here, Strife?" The SOLDIER yelled directly in his face. Cloud jumped and stumbled backwards, all of his wounds suddenly hurting at once.

"I-I-" He wasn't good at thinking on his feet like this, especially when he was in a horribly compromising position.

"Sir, he was trying to show the other cadets how he cast in materia practice, but things got a bit out of hand." Cloud's head shot up, staring at the other two cadets who'd hung back. They were far enough away-and Cloud wasn't angry at them-so they weren't caught up in the ice storm the blonde cadet had created. The taller one had spoke, only glancing slightly at him and nodding.

"Out of hand? OUT OF HAND?! You call this just a little  _out of hand?!"_ But the other cadets were leaping on the suggestion, as it caused less blame for all of them.

"Is this  _true,_ Fletcher?" The SOLDIER shouted in his face, and he frantically nodded, shooting a glare at Cloud when the third class wasn't looking.

The blonde cadet was breathing heavily, having been saved by a sudden intervention. He supposed he could tell the truth, but everyone would still get in trouble and he'd get blamed for the situation, so at least this way, they could chalk it up to an accident. As vindictive as he was towards the bullies, this was not a good way to get back at them.

The SOLDIER kept glaring-and the scientist just studying the scene with growing fascination-but no one was backing down. He probably suspected the situation but since no one was confessing, he could not do anything about it.

"Fine. All of you, to the infirmary and we'll decide your punishment later! You!" He yelled, pointing his finger at Cloud, who again, flinched.  _Why do they all feel the need to yell?_

He grabbed the cadets arm, pulling him close. "I understand the situation, and Zack is a friend of mine, but  _don't you dare let it happen again."_

Cloud nodded numbly, still caught off guard by everything, and the SOLDIER backed off, shouting orders at everyone else. Fletcher was attempting to free himself from the ice, and the other cadets were picking themselves of the floor, refusing to go near Cloud. His shoulders slumped. So much for not standing out.

* * *

Vincent was sitting calmly on one of the pews in the broken-down church while watching the girl tend to her flowers. Aerith had been nice, inviting him inside despite his demonic appearance. Not having said a word since telling her his name, he merely watched and contemplated. What were these flowers doing here in a church of all places, with the slums so absent of life, and why had this place called to him? Chaos stirred restlessly inside of him but Vincent had already grown used to the strange being's whisperings.

"I don't normally get many visitors down here, you know," Aerith said, standing up and brushing the dirt off her hands. Vincent merely kept looking at her.  _I doubt you have many like me._

"Normally they fall from the ceiling!" She smiled, as if telling a private joke, but after Vincent didn't react, her face fell slightly.

"…fell?" He asked, slightly curious. There was a patch in the roof that looked like something had broken through it.

"Yes. It was a SOLDIER actually, named Zack. He landed-" Aerith never got to finish her sentence as Vincent abruptly stood at the mention of the name.

"You know Zack Fair?" Vincent said in a serious voice. She seemed to be a little unnerved by his sudden reaction, but hid it well.

"Well, yes. He fell down here in my church and we've been well…dating ever since. At least one date, mind you. That's all I promised him," she answered.

It seemed as though this girl knew of his companions, therefore this meeting of theirs couldn't just be coincidence. He was still unsure of whether he should reveal his true identity or not, but figured Zack would hear about it sooner or later. After all, how many times did one run across a tall red-caped man?

"I am Vincent Valentine. Zack is a colleague of mine. When he went on the mission to Nibelheim last week, he and his companions discovered me and brought me here," he told her, watching for her reaction carefully.

Her eyes widened at the new information, but she still held together remarkably well. Had things like this happened before?

"How much has he told you?" Vincent continued to question, wanting to know how much Aerith knew of the situation. Why he even trusted her, he did not know, but this church seemed to have that air to it-old and long forgotten in time, as if secrets were safe in its boundaries.

"I…he's been busy so he hasn't been able to do much more than call me. He said he just got back from Nibelheim and that he picked up a new student, but not much more than that. Zack seemed…worried about something. I know he's not telling me everything." Aerith said, meeting Vincent's gaze.

So she did know something was up. Zack seemed to not want her involved but as it was…

"We are in danger from Shinra. It is only to be expected that he is worried," he informed her quietly, but she was already nodding like she knew that.

"That makes sense, Tseng seemed pretty reserved when he came here last." Aerith said. Vincent froze. She even knew the head of the Turks? Just who was this slum girl?

"How do you know Tseng?"

She sighed. "Shinra's been after me for awhile."

"Why?" He asked urgently.

Her green eyes met his again and a shiver went through to his very core. "You've sensed why, haven't you, Vincent? You hold Chaos inside you."

_Just like Cloud…she can hear him._

**_It is the Voice of the Ancients. I hear it within her._ **

**_"_** Cetra," he breathed out, and she smiled.

"Yes. I am the last Cetra. The Planet must have guided you here to meet me, if you know Zack." Aerith sat down on the pew opposite of his while Vincent just remained standing, struck numb. In his time he had heard of the research done into the Ancients but they had been believed to be a race long since dead, until Jenova was discovered. And now Chaos' voice had led him to this church, where another person could hear him.

"But I am not…how is it you can hear Chaos as well?" He needed to know.

Aerith looked uncertain for a moment, but answered him anyway. "I don't quite understand it, but I can just hear him. And sense him, like he's living inside you. Chaos is a being born of the Lifestream, it only makes sense."

Her eyes were full of sorrow for him, as though she had guessed what had happened to make him this way.

"You are right, I am no longer human." He settled down as well into the pew, the only sound coming from the clinking of his metal gauntlet. "He is inside of me as are several other demons. I wished to find out what has happened to me and how…"

Aerith nodded. "I understand. You're confused. I feel the same way whenever the Planet is talking to me, like…something is calling you from very, very far away but you just can't make out what they're saying."

So it was a Cetra thing to be able to hear things normal people could not. His experiment explained Vincent's own condition, at least somewhat, but then what about Cloud? He had so many questions, and the only people who could answer them were long since dead.  _Lucrecia…what happened to you…_

A pair of gentle hands took his own, and he stared down at her in slight surprise.

"I'm sorry," Aerith said mournfully. "I really am, but I don't have the answers you need. I wish I understood what was going on too. I'm sorry."

Vincent said nothing, for there was nothing to say. They shared that moment, a moment of confusion and pain, wondering what these new voices and outside forces wanted with their little lives. A gentle breeze swept through, carrying the scent of flowers and startled them both out of their reverie.

"I will go. Tell no one that you saw me." Vincent's voice seemed to shock Aerith out of her trance and she let go of his hand.

"Wait…I…" She stood up suddenly, sweeping towards the flowers and looking away from him. He stood up as well, confused.

Aerith turned around, her dress twirling with her. "I may not be able to help you, but maybe someone else can. I've never met him, but I've heard he's really knowledgeable about the Planet."

Vincent cocked his head, curious about this person she knew.

"He lives in Cosmo Canyon. It's a place that's the foreground of research about the Lifestream. If anyone knows about your condition, it's him." Aerith smiled, lighting up the room.

"How do you know this?"

She laughed again, a strange sound for such a beat down place. "The walls talk, you know. Now go, I'll tell Zack you were here."

And so he did, though the scent of fresh flowers followed after him for a long time.

* * *

Cloud was fairly certain no one was buying the story of a training exercise gone wrong, but there was no one to tell otherwise. He was still rather confused as to why the two other cadets had stuck up for him like that, but at the moment he was rather occupied.

His left arm, the one on fire, was stinging horribly and wrapped up in bandages, having been covered in burns. It wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been, as the doctor had put it, but now every movement made the limb hurt like hell. At the very least it wasn't his sword arm, which had its own share of problems.

He poked at the swelling bruise on the right side of his face as he waited for the doctor to come back, her having been called off to take care of the injuries the other cadets had gotten. Of all of them, Cloud had been the worst off, though a few others had some frostbite and contusions from being thrown backwards. He'd even managed to give a number of them mild concussions.

Surprisingly, the same two cadets that had stuck out for him earlier were still standing here next to his bed, and didn't look to be leaving soon. Cloud wracked his brain for their names but all he could come up with was Rin for the tall one.

_Well I'm sure I'll be really attractive now,_ he thought, pulling a face and then wincing. Great. Even being sarcastic hurt.

"You okay?" Rin asked, and Cloud stared up at him through his one good eye. The other one was only about half open due to swelling.

"No offense or anything, but why are you guys hanging around here?" He meant for it to be a question, but it had come out sounding a lot more accusatory than he meant. Luckily, neither of them seemed to take it as an insult.

"Well, you seemed to be pretty distraught," the-slightly-smaller one began, but Rin quickly finished the sentence.

"Glad to see someone finally put Fletcher in his place, you know." The older boy nodded and crossed his arms. "He'd do the same to me if it wasn't for my size."

Cloud just stared at them both, recalling for a fact they did seem to get left out of a lot of the conversations and events that took place. He wasn't the only subject of bullying-he just had the worst of it because he'd fight back and was so, well, tiny.

"I'm glad I did it too, for all the good that did me," Cloud said darkly. A few bruises, a burnt left arm, and extra duty later…

"No, but it did! He's totally scared of you now!" The smaller one said, whom the blonde cadet was starting to suspect was Rin's brother. "Well, a lot of them are. We were too, man, we've never seen you cast like that!"

"Were?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you didn't seem that out to get us," Rin said, gesturing to both of them. Now that he noticed, neither of them had any injuries at all and hadn't been knocked over either. Maybe the materia really had responded to his thoughts then, as the rest of the squad had been scattered all over the place.

"I guess…" Cloud was still weirded out by the whole incident, and if it weren't for the stinging pain, he'd think the whole thing was a dream, just like the fight with the safe monster.

_Well it happened twice, then. It can't be a fluke._

An awkward silence fell between the three cadets as they just sat there, waiting for someone to say something. Finally, it was Rin who spoke up.

"Look dude, I'm sorry…that we never really stuck up for you before," he said, genuinely sounding apologetic. "You seemed like a nice kid. Weird, but nice."

His brother elbowed him in the stomach. "Just the other guys probably would've been even worse on us if we'd become friends with you. But you seem to be able to stick up for yourself now."

Cloud looked at both of them, surprised. They were right, some part of him did feel angry that they had never talked until now, let him take all that shit for the past week or two alone, but at the same time he could understand the need to not draw attention to themselves. It was doing stuff like that that got him bullied in the first place, and the only reason they weren't like him was because they weren't a runt.

"I…" He had trusted Reno and Zack and Tseng and it had all paid off. None of them had betrayed him and seemed to think he was worth a good deal. He recalled a little of what Jones had told him before he'd entered the cadet program.

'If you, a reject, makes it through the SOLDIER program again, you'll be the inspiration for nobodies everywhere!' the trooper had said to him, and only now Cloud could see what he meant. He'd done something unexpected and stood up to people stronger than him, and in turn, inspired others to do the same.

"I'm Cloud Strife," he said, holding out his hand. "If we're going to know each other, we might as well do it properly."

The two looked confused for a moment, but grinned anyway.

"Rin Ogley," the taller one said, shaking his hand and nearly ripping his arm off in the process. "This is my brother, Seth."

Seth, luckily, wasn't an arm-ripper like his brother, but had a strong grip anyway. They both had dark hair and a bit darker skin than Cloud's, indicating they probably lived somewhere with actual sunlight.

Seth wore his hair in a short ponytail, while Rin's was just short and messy, all over his head.

Cloud opened his mouth to say something more but was interrupted by something very loud and very upset.

"CLOUD, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Zack Fair's voice rang clear throughout the room, causing the entire infirmary to look at him. Despite the pain in his left arm, Cloud slapped both hands to his face.

"Zack, stop it!" He mumbled through them, but he knew his words would be lost on deaf ears. Rin and Seth were smart enough to get out of the way as the SOLDIER thundered through, stopping next to his student's bed.

"Cloud, what happened? All I hear is a bunch of cadets got into an accident with materia and oh my Goddess what happened to your face?" Zack said frantically, grabbing onto Cloud's shoulders and peering at him.

"Nothing, I ran into the wall," he said, trying to push the first class off of him. He hadn't told anyone outside what had happened and he certainly wasn't going to tell Zack, especially when it involved him.

"Ran into a wall? Come on, Cloud, what do you take me for? Unless the wall had fists, I'm not believing you!" Zack glared his student down, and the blonde nearly crumbled. He'd forgotten how scary Zack was when he was angry and on a mission.

"Zack please, just drop it!" Cloud said.

"I am not gonna, drop it, if someone did this to you-"

"Zack, drop it!" Only then did the first class stop to see just how upset his student was. Cloud was frantic, desperately looking around, not wanting everyone to know what Zack was saying. The SOLDIER let out a breath, deflating and sitting down on Cloud's bed.

"Cloud, I'm sorry," he started again in a much lower voice, "but if they're bullying you to this extent I have to report it."

But the blonde cadet shook his head. "It's not going to happen again, I promise."

Zack looked at him, confused, and Cloud looked at him, grinning weakly. "You should see the other guys."

It took a moment for the pin to drop, but when it did the first class began to smile. "So you're telling me what I think you are?"

Cloud nodded, and Zack laughed, suddenly hugging him, causing him to flinch in pain.

"Man, I'm proud of you, Cloud, standing up for yourself!"

"Ow, ow ow let me go!" Cloud yelped, and Zack dropped his hug, finally remembering his friend was injured.

"I'm not apologizing for that one," he said, pointing a finger at the smaller cadet. "You deserve it."

"Gee, thanks," Cloud said, rubbing the pain out of his left arm.

"Though I suppose this is the time where I'm a responsible adult and warn you about doing stuff like that again." Zack looked focused, as if he was trying not to grin but failing miserably. "Seriously, as awesome as that was, I don't suggest trying to freeze your entire squad solid again, if I heard right."

"You heard right, and yeah, I know, I just…lost it." Cloud looked down at his hands, almost worried now about the type of power he'd created. It was exhilarating in a way, but also scary. If that had been a stronger materia, could he have killed them? Or if he had made a mistake and summoned Odin…his stomach began to twist around in knots.

Zack's hand settled on his head in reassurance. "Cloud, it's okay. You lost your temper, but you can work on that. You just need to keep training and get stronger so stuff like this doesn't happen again."

"But what if something terrible happened, that I couldn't fix? What if someone had…and it was all my fault?" Cloud asked him, staring down at the sheets he was sitting on, unable to meet his friend's eyes.

"But it didn't, Cloud. And yeah, freezing them all was probably your fault, but you were just defending yourself. The only way you can stop that from happening is getting control of yourself and doing your best to not let anyone get to you."

"It's harder than it sounds, I know," Zack continued, seeing the blonde cadet open his mouth, "but it's true. It's your own fate, and you're in control of it. And anyone who can stand up to you-know-who is definitely strong enough. Believe me."

"I can try-"

"No, no trying. Do it. Like in training. Except its a different kind of training." Zack peeked down at Cloud, smiling at him. "I, unfortunately, can't help you with this kind."

He tried his hardest to resist, but Zack was impossible and eventually he smiled as well. His SOLDIER friend chuckled, messing his spikes up a bit before rocking back on the bed. "We'll figure it all out."

"What would I do without you…" The question just sort of slipped out of Cloud and Zack looked over at him, surprised.

"Dunno, probably mourn my passing for ages to come. Or dissolve into chocobo-colored pudding. Come on, let's get you out of here." Zack sprang up and Cloud didn't have the heart to tell him he couldn't leave.

* * *

"What do you mean you can't go?" Zack said as Cloud finally informed him of the hard facts.

"The doctor said she needed to return and tell me something before I could leave. I can't control what she does." Cloud shrugged and stared at his right arm, where the shooting pain had been earlier. The numbness that had plagued him after the safe monster fight was worse than before and it was worrying, to say the least.

"Yeah, but about what? All you have is some burns and a lovely bruise on the side of your face. That's not very life-threatening," Zack growled, prowling about like a mother chocobo. Rin and Seth had long since left after the first class had thundered in, since they probably figured they'd never be able to again get a word in edgewise.

"I don't know. She just said to wait here. Now will you stop pacing? It's driving me crazy." Cloud sighed wondering just how Zack could be even more nervous than he was. He knew he should be more careful, knowing that Hojo was after him, but right now everything hurt and he just wanted to go to bed and sleep for the next three weeks.

"Sorry." Zack apologized but was saved from saying anything further by his PHS suddenly ringing. He quickly picked up the phone after seeing who it was, mouthing 'I'll be right back' to Cloud, and leaving the infirmary.

He wondered what was so important about the call in leu of anything better to do. Rolling the Odin materia around in his fingers, Cloud briefly wondered what the others in the group were doing. Reno he still hadn't heard from, Sephiroth had been locked up in his office and not even Zack had heard anything from him, and Vincent and Angeal were out there somewhere and he could only hope they were okay.

And there was the strange case of the girl in his dreams. Aerith, she had finally said her name was, and he sort of hoped every time he went to sleep, he'd dream of her, but the cadet had not heard from her ever since Nibelheim.

The doctor returned, derailing that train of thought. "Okay, thank you for waiting here. I presume you know why the materia shattered when you cast that spell?"

Cloud stared at her slightly, not expecting the question. She wanted to talk to him about his materia use?

"I…used too powerful a spell?" He guessed, and she pursed her lips.

"That's a bit of an understatement. The materia shattered because you used too powerful a spell, yes, but you also overtaxed the mana in your own body. I don't suppose they teach you that equipping certain materia actually weakens your physical state slightly?"

His eyes widened at this new fact. No, he certainly did not know that!

The doctor sighed, pushing up her glasses. "It figures. You, Cloud, have been taxing the mana in your body to synchronize with the materia too much. By casting spells beyond your level and the level of the materia equipped to your body, you put too much strain upon your body's natural resources of magic, and completely drain them. That is why, as you say, you cannot cast a spell after having an episode like this."

She looked at a couple pages in her notebook and then continued. "If you continue at this pace of overexerting yourself, the pain and numbness in your right arm will become permanent."

That got to him finally. His right arm was his sword arm, and if he couldn't use it properly…well then he would become worse than useless to everyone. Cloud bit his lip, solemnly swearing to never use materia again. "Yeah, I get it…"

"For now, I suggest you stay away from materia for at least a week and then, if you pick it up again, only cast spells the materia is intended for. Or, just stick to skill materia. The rest of your wounds will fade within the next couple weeks and the swelling should go down by tomorrow. Have a good day," The doctor said curtly, turning to leave.

"Wait a minute, I have a question." Cloud held a hand up and she turned back towards him, confused.

"Yes?"

"I, well um, how was I able to do that with the materia in the first place? This is like the second time I've ever used it," He said, recalling how he made the fire materia burst into flame when Zack was showing him how to use it.

The doctor looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, my only guess is that you're a natural materia user. You resonate with mako much more deeply then normal people, especially for your age. Is that all?"

Cloud nodded, his head whirling with this new fact. A natural materia user, huh? Could this be the reason that Hojo had his eye on him? The scientist certainly did seem obsessed with mako at times and who knew what this meant for him getting enhancements…

Zack took a few minutes longer before he returned. Apparently he'd gotten not one, but two phone calls while he was outside of the room, and by the look on the first class's face. it wasn't good news.

"Good news is, Reno's finally back," Zack said darkly, unconsciously gripping the edge of the table tight enough to bend the metal.

"And the bad news?" Cloud barely wanted to ask.

"We need to finally meet up. Things are going south real fast."

 


	16. A Boy and his Devils

Zack wouldn't tell him anything about where they were going or what his phone calls were about, but it was obvious something had upset the man. The SOLDIER was never this curt with anyone, ever. No matter how many times Cloud asked, he would just reply with a 'You'll see' so the cadet quickly gave up and just tried to keep up with the taller man's pace.

_Did someone die or what?_ Cloud wondered, noting the serious attitude. He was surprised when Zack finally stopped in front of Sephiroth's office of all places and knocked on the door. The blonde cadet shot a questioning glance-wincing again, damn his eye!-but Zack merely shook his head.

"The only place that's safe right now," the first class said pointedly, and understanding dawned upon Cloud in a wave. The door slowly opened and he was once again faced with the General himself, unconsciously taking a step back.

It earned a slight smile from Zack, who nudged him forward into the room. Sephiroth backed away, allowing them both to enter, and as Cloud looked around, he spotted a familiar red-head.

"Reno!" He half shouted, almost rushing over until he realized he wasn't actually supposed to care about him. The Turk in question looked up a bit in surprise.

"Yo, haven't seen you for awhile. Apparently." He gave a jaunty wave, being a lot more civil than usual. Now that he thought about it, Reno seemed to be tired and downtrodden, and certainly not as energetic.

What had happened?

"Apparently?" He questioned, hoping someone could shed some light onto this situation, but Reno merely shook his head.

"More on that later, Cloudy," the red-head replied, and for once Cloud didn't get him back for calling him that. The pain in his arms and face forgotten, he waited to find out what had happened to his friends.

* * *

Luckily he didn't have too long to wait, as Tseng was the only other one to arrive. Cloud hadn't even noticed Rude standing right next to Reno the entire time he was talking, which was both impressive and stupid.

"Strife, why are you injured?" Sephiroth asked, having seated himself on one of the chairs in his office. Cloud jumped again, nearly forgetting he was there. Despite a few moments of camaraderie with the man, he still felt horribly nervous around him, and it was not just the knowledge he was one of Hojo's experiments; Cloud still had lingering feelings of admiration for him. He seemed to be an unearthly being.

"I-ran into a wall." He gave the same excuse he did Zack, mostly to annoy him, and he was rewarded with the first class dramatically sighing and rolling his eyes.

"What Cloud meant to say was that he got into a fight with some of the cadets on his squad and froze half of them solid," Zack said, earning several shocked glances from around the room.

"Is this true, Strife?" Sephiroth said, almost coldly. Cloud realized if the General disapproved of his actions, he could get into very, very big trouble, and somehow, he doubted that Sephiroth really supported infighting among the SOLDIERS unless it was for good reason.

"Sort of. Yes. But they were bullying me! I wasn't going to sit down and let them set me on fire and such, I-" Quickly, from Zack's expression, he knew he'd said something wrong.

"They. Set you. On. Fire." His voice was low and deadly, and Cloud held his hands up in a sudden panic.

"How the hell did you think you got the bandages on my left arm? Zack, it's over, just let it go!" He said, but his friend was not calming down.

"You failed to mention that when you were in the infirmary." he hissed and Cloud desperately wished he could sink into the carpet and disappear.

"Yeah, I wonder why…" And no, he was not making eye contact with Zack either.

"I hate to break up this touching scene, but we have more important things to discuss." Tseng broke through smoothly, stopping the arguments in their tracks. Cloud noticed he almost had something of a smirk on his face, but it quickly disappeared. Nothing still had been heard from Reno who was, weirdly enough, slouching in the corner silently with his partner.

Zack merely gave him the 'we're not done' look, causing Cloud to gulp and turned to Tseng. "Fine. Is this about what you called me about?"

So one of those phone calls had been from Tseng. Then who was the other? Sephiroth had suddenly sat up, now that this conversation pertained to something he was interested in.

"Question." Cloud raised his hand slightly. "Is anyone going to explain to me why Reno has been missing this past week?"

Normally he wouldn't talk at all, but he was more than a little annoyed and concerned over his not-friend.

"That's exactly what I called Zack about." Tseng started, but finally, Reno showed some life and moved over to where they were.

"Problem is, Cloudy, I don't know," Reno said quietly. Cloud sucked in a breath, dearly hoping he wasn't implying what the red-head was implying.

"You mean you have no memory of this past week at all?" Sephiroth asked for him.

"That's what I mean, yo. That's not the only kicker either." Reno seemed shifty and his eyes kept flicking back and forth between walls and faces, as if he couldn't sit still.

Everyone else didn't say anything and seemed to be waiting for the words the red-head couldn't seem to spit out of his mouth. Reno's gaze kept flashing up to Sephiroth for some reason, almost afraid.

"Well?" Zack said testily, apparently still miffed from earlier.

Reno took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well I don't have any memory of this past week 'cause the last thing I remember was being questioned by Hojo in his goddamn lab."

The results of the Turk's revelation was indeed predictable. Zack swore, and Sephiroth immediately looked murderous. Thankfully, less violent than when Reno had mentioned the name in the mansion, but nevertheless, it brought a chill straight to Cloud's core.

"He…questioned you?" Sephiroth was doing a remarkable job of holding himself together, not having destroyed any furniture yet. The cadet didn't know how that long was going to last, though, and he edged himself a bit further away from the General just to be safe.

"Yes, do I have to repeat myself? He asked me everything he could 'bout what went down in Nibelheim and what happened to Jenova and then it all gets blurry and next thing I know, I wake up in my room with Rude tellin' me I've been gone for a week!" Reno sounded frantic by the end, and Cloud didn't blame him. Hojo had stolen a week of his memory and no one could tell him what happened.

"We have no knowledge of what was done to him during this time period, if anything." Tseng attempted to assuage what was slowly becoming a very emotional exchange.

_It looks like everyone's tempers have run high, not just mine and Zack's._ Course, he'd just beaten up an entire squad of bullies. That was never a good way to start a day.

"An' it's not as if I can go to the medical people here and say 'hi, your boss did something to me without my knowledge or consent. Please figure it out.'" Reno, of course, was never helping.

"How much does he know now?" Sephiroth asked, stone-cold.

Reno started scratching at his left eye. "Well, I don't really know. It's hard to tell because I don't know how much of it he already knew."

"I want answers, not excuses!" Sephiroth slammed his hand on the arm-rest of the chair, causing both Reno and Cloud to jump.

_Holy crap, everyone just needs to calm down!_ Cloud thought frantically, himself included. As much as he was fuming at Zack and Reno and everyone for still leaving him out-sort of-he knew they had to work together, and they couldn't be at each other's throats.

Tseng luckily, seemed to have the same idea, for he held up an hand in front of the General. "I would ask that you do not threaten my employees, please."

Sephiroth shot him a glare that could've melted metal, but settled into his chair once again, only slightly less murderous.

Reno stared at him for a few minutes, probably trying to make sure Masamune wasn't going to come out of nowhere and impale him, before continuing. "He already seemed to know everything that had happened to Jenova, includin' the fact that she's been freed. He was more interested in why Sephiroth didn't go to the reactor and anything Cloud did that was weird." The red head sighed, kicking at the ground. "He didn't get anything from me 'bout Genesis, least not while I was conscious. But he knows about Angeal."

"Luckily," he held up a finger as both annoyed SOLDIERs started to protest, "Hojo still thinks I'm on his side and I managed to feed him a ton of misinformation. He doesn't know about Cloud's little thing with the materia, though now with that accident or whatever of yours…"

He knew he screwed up big time as Reno said that. Sure, Cloud figured his newfound ability with materia would raise all sorts of red flags, but the consequences never hit him until now.

"You're playing a very dangerous game," Sephiroth said.

The red-head smiled humorlessly. "I'm a Turk. We're trained for this."

Cloud was sure that Sephiroth and Zack had wanted to question Reno even more about Hojo and his shenanigans, but the cadet, sensing his friend's distress, decided to give him a break.

"Zack, you said you had two important phone calls? What was the other one?" Cloud said quickly, interrupting the first class's next question.

He looked confused for a moment, and then brightened. "Oh right. That. My uh, girlfriend called."

Tseng arched an eyebrow, more expression than Cloud had seen out of him for the whole meeting. "Aerith called you?"

A jolt ran down Cloud's spine. Had Tseng just said Aerith? As in the green-eyed girl he kept seeing in his dreams? The one he was sure was real somewhere, if only he could find the church where she lived?

He kept listening, barely being able to concentrate. "Yeah. She called me to say someone strange had arrived in her church who said he knew me. A red-caped man called Vincent Valentine."

"Oh? Vincent was there? He finally showed up again," Reno said, obviously glad for the change of pace.

_Did he say church?_ Sephiroth went on to say something else about Vincent but Cloud had stopped listening. How was it this strange girl, the one he had never met before, happened to be Zack's  _girlfriend?!_

Not only that, but she had met another member of their party in a seemingly random happenstance. What exactly the hell was going on? He was beginning to suspect it was the Planet toying with him for some reason, trying to twist him into something terrible. With the materia, the dreams, the strange incident with Sephiroth, and the book his father narrated, Cloud was no longer sure his fate was headed in a good direction. He might turn into a monster instead of a hero, like he wanted.

"Cloud, are you okay?" Zack's concerned voice broke through his flurry of worried thoughts, and the pain in his head grew.

"No. Yeah. I'm-It's just a headache, I'm okay. I think I need to leave." He knew he wasn't being very coherent but at this point he didn't care, he just wanted out. Cloud stood up, a hand to the side of his head, and rushed out before anyone could say any different.

* * *

"Well whats up with him?" Reno asked as Cloud suddenly rushed out of the room. "Is it okay for him to just leave?"

Zack didn't know what was up but it sure as hell didn't help with his concern and annoyance. The kid was stubborn and unhelpful at the worst of times, if the incident with the cadets had anything to say about that.  _It's just more stuff I'll have to talk to him later about…_ He wondered if Angeal ever had these issues with him; having a student was a lot harder then he ever bargained for.

"Dunno," he finally replied. "He's not been having a good day, I'll just talk to him later."

That seemed to placate Reno, who was again scratching at his left eye, complaining about dust getting stuck in it. Tseng and Sephiroth were merely thoughtful,

"So all we have right now is that Hojo knows everything that's going on except for Genesis, Vincent is apparently going to Cosmo Canyon to figure out what happened to him, and nobody still knows what's going on or where Jenova is?" Zack put out, hoping for some answers.

"I have not discovered anything, and I am loathe to ask the man himself." Sephiroth spat out the word like it was a curse. "I do not know what his endgame is, or why he wants Cloud."

"We have evidence that Hojo tampered with his file, and as Reno has pointed out, he's looking for any unusual events surrounding the cadet," Tseng said smoothly, causing Zack to jolt up.

"And since he did that thing with the materia…" He wasn't looking forward to the Turk's answer.

"I was right, yo. Since he caused a public incident, Creepshow's gonna know somethings up." Reno slouched back on the chair he set himself on.

"And no help to you!" Zack leapt up, fuming. Reno's right eye flashed open, staring daggers into him.

"I don't recall ever tellin' Hojo about him takin' down the Lost Number, or even wanting to bring him back in the first place. I'm only working with him 'cause its the best source of information and cause I don't want to die. So you can shut the hell up." The Turk's tense muscles betrayed the casual way he was lying there.

He wanted to yell at someone, but he owed it to everyone else to keep his cool here. It apparently hadn't been a good day for anyone and now the tension was out the window. It would be very terrifying to realize that Hojo had stolen a week of your life, Zack grudgingly admitted, and it definitely showed in the red-head, who was more solemn and succinct than usual.

"Has anyone heard from Angeal at all?" Zack asked, trying to bring his mind off of strangling Reno, but the answer was a resounding negative. In the back of his mind, he was sure he was forgetting something, but Cloud leaving seemed to have wiped his memory.

"I suggest we meet in my rooms any time we have something to share. I am always sure to keep my private space…clean of Shinra interference," Sephiroth said.

"As for me, I will do my best to find Hojo's plan but I cannot continue covering for everyone. You need to be careful. The Vice President is on your trail." Tseng added, earning him a shocked glance from Zack. "As for now, I'm taking Reno off duty until he is needed, and Rude will stay with him to make sure nothing bad happens."

The SOLDIER glanced over at Reno's partner, who had been in the corner of the room the entire time.  _Damn, he's so quiet I forgot he was there!_ Still, he knew the taciturn man was very good at his job, and since Turk partners were extremely loyal to each other, they were leaving Reno in good hands. For all the good that did.

"Probably a good idea. We don't know what the guy did," he said.

"Hey, don't talk to me like I ain't here, yo!"

Zack ignored him and turned back to the others. "Do you still have to keep watching Aerith?"

"You know the answer to that, Zack. I can't just drop company orders because you say so," Tseng said.

Zack sighed. "I know that, but-"

"She will be safe." The Turk leader smiled slightly at him. "We need to focus."

Sephiroth had long since left the conversation and was thinking to himself in the corner, so Zack declared this meeting to be pretty much over, even if he was now more confused then when he first came here.

"Right, well, I have stuff to get back to so I'm guessing we're done here." Zack jumped up, trying to recover some of his earlier energy. "Everyone keep an eye out on things, seeing how we know about as little as we did before."

"Yeah. You can say that again," Reno said darkly, and Zack left the room.

* * *

The incident at materia practice among the SOLDIER cadets sparked a lot of interest among the scientists of the program, but none more so than Professor Hojo himself. Gleefully, locked away in his own labs, he awarded himself with the honor that once again, he had been right. Hearing the name Cloud Strife on the incident report had been the sweetest news of all.

Even his frustration at the case of the little Turk rat he was using wasn't enough to upset this news. Unfortunately, Zack Fair seemed to be as attached as ever to his little student, and even the Turks were starting to interfere more now with the rat in play. He would have to tread carefully from here on.

Hojo ground his teeth, angry to be deprived of his specimen for so long. It was so close to being his prize, and yet…so far.

"Jenova…how would you like to have a new son. One just as strong as our beautiful Sephiroth," he muttered to himself, typing into the computer. Hojo had known that Jenova had been freed immediately from the sensors he had put all around the reactor, but he was angry about the fact that, as Reno said, Sephiroth refused to go up to the summit.

Why would that be so? He had set it up perfectly, with the files he had scattered around that desk. But something had got in the way, something had interfered. It had probably been that boy's friend, Hollander's failed experiment. Reno had thought Hojo didn't know, but since Hollander had been captured, he had gotten all the information that he needed.

There was an unknown variable here, and even with his newest rat-plus a couple modifications-Hojo was still desperate for more information. But for now, he contented himself with the fact that Cloud Strife was far more valuable than gold.

_Jenova, it will one day be time to welcome someone new to your family._

* * *

By the time he had reached the barracks again, Cloud had barely managed to collapse into his bed. His head was throbbing from all his errant thoughts and worries and he wished desperately for at least some good news. Instead he got the reminder that something was totally wrong with him.

Ignoring Odin, he buried his head under his pillow and tried to go to sleep before anyone else returned.

It didn't work at all, so Cloud gave up on the elusive state and reached for the book his dad gave him. He might as well spend some time looking for answers in the cryptic pages. He flipped it back to the Demon of SIn and Chaos page, staring a bit at the picture of Vincent staring up at him, then continued on. His dad was right; these sections at the end of the book seemed to be describing characters rather then stories, but these characters had no tale. They were just…there.

His page flipping stopped on one called the Crimson Devil. Curious, he read into it more. It detailed the story of a child, a homeless boy, who dreamed of flying next to the sun in the sky. However, poor and jobless as he was, he had no chance of ever seeing the sky where he was, since poor people lived under the floating city. So instead, he worked his way up, doing anything he could until he became one of the people in the floating city.

He eventually made it and grew a family as well as a best friend, but never forgot his dream to fly in the sky. However one day, he had an accident and died. His friend cried over the body, and the Goddess, sensing his distress, offered the boy a deal. If he came back to life, he could grow wings and fly like he always dreamed. However he had to become the herald of the goddess and protector of his friend, whom was beloved of the goddess.

The rest of the page unfortunately was lost, so Cloud didn't know the rest of it, but that was enough. His father had wrote over the ruined parts, circling the word 'herald' several times. What exactly was he after?

"See 'herald of WEAPON'…."he whispered, stroking the page. Those words confused him. What did he mean by WEAPON? Cloud had always loved this story when he was younger, he remembered now, but for the life of him, he could not recall if there was a good ending or not.

There was one thing for sure, though. He needed the rest of his father's writings. Cloud was sure there was more in the Nibelheim mansion, but Sephiroth had not known to look. It could unlock all the mysteries he was talking about in here, and Cloud felt sure that somewhere in his gut, they were relevant to the current situation.

He was interrupted from further thoughts by the trickling in of squadmates, who, except for Rin and Seth, gave him a very wide berth.

* * *

Their 'punishment' happened to consist of cleaning out the entire barracks, including the shared bathrooms, and sitting through a three hour lecture on the proper use of materia, which Cloud mostly slept through. He stuck with it, despite the pain from his left arm, since if the truth had been told, it could've been a whole lot worse.

Unfortunately this happened on the same day that he spent sword practice with the other cadets, which he would've been grateful for, had it not been for his injuries and the fact he was already tired. Luckily, Seth had offered to pair up with him, interested in seeing his skill. The two brothers had become more outgoing towards him since yesterday, and because they associated with Cloud, Fletcher and the others gave them a wide berth too, which was sort of amusing. That didn't stop the angry cadet from giving him dirty glances whenever he could.

"Hey, I wanna see the sword skill of someone being trained by a first class," Seth said, squaring off his broadsword against Cloud's, which was a little shaky.

"You might have to hold a raincheck on that, he's only been teaching me basics so far," Cloud said, feeling another pang of annoyance shoot through him. Zack was a great teacher, yes, but they were still at odds with each other and the blonde didn't even know why.

They ran through the basic drills again, and Cloud tried to take his teacher's advice and watch Seth's feet as he moved. Each blow his new friend landed made his head ring, but he gritted his teeth and stuck through it. Like before, he spent too much time watching Seth's feet instead of his sword, but by the end of his turn, Cloud was learning to look up and use the edges of his vision to determine which way a person's foot pointed.

"Okay, your turn to attack," Seth said as Cloud wrung out his left arm, trying to wave away the stinging. Luckily the swelling in his face had gone down almost entirely and he could see again, but the lovely bruise would be there for a few more days.

"Got it." The blonde cadet gripped the broadsword in his hands anew, testing his reach, and then swinging the first blow. Everything seemed to be going well in practice so far. In fact, it seemed almost…easy. Seth didn't attack or block with the speed and power of a first class SOLDIER, even one holding back. That wasn't to say the large boy didn't have considerable strength behind him; his blows still made Cloud's teeth vibrate, they were just easier to predict.

The ease of his blows showed with the instructor who came by and complimented him on his sword-work, saying his pose needed no fixing one of Seth's feet, the guy continued on.

"Wow, looks like your training is paying off," Seth said between blows.

"It's mostly…just…basics..like I said. He wants to know I…have them before we try anything different." It was easy enough that he could talk without even being distracted that bad, and Cloud started to feel a little bit warmer inside. Despite the craziness of yesterday, he was a lot better with the sword than before and that felt really good.

"He's got a good head on his shoulders then. Basics are important." Seth nodded like he just said something very wise. Cloud broke off, his endurance shot.

"He's got a good head for some things," Cloud muttered.

Seth looked at him curiously. "Is something wrong?"

Well, he certainly couldn't tell him about all the stuff with Hojo and the others. "It's nothing. Just…me and Zack had a bit of an argument."

"Oh. I see." Seth didn't look like the type to be very good with words. "Well, I hope you two can work it out. You make a great pair."

Cloud smiled a little about that. Truth was, he did feel a bit guilty at being angry at Zack for reasons he didn't even get, since the first class was his first friend and literally saved his life several thousand times over. "I'll try. I just haven't been feeling good recently."

And with that, they both got back to practicing with their swords.

* * *

There were no dreams of the girl in the church that night, and Cloud didn't know whether he should be concerned or relieved. He sort of wanted to ask her if she was THE Aerith, but at the same time, it seemed to be an awful thing to pry , how common a name was that?

Still feeling bad, Cloud went to go distract himself with going to the gym. Sunday was their only day off the entire week, so most people, including Seth and Rin slept in and chilled in the room, but he didn't want to spend anymore time in that cramped place. Doing sword-work and exercising seemed to be the only things that could draw his mind off this madness.

The other advantage was he was alone in one of the training rooms to work. He was still frustrated with his lack of endurance, but having only been with the program a week, there wasn't much he could do about that except keep working on his muscles, especially the upper body ones, if his secret desire of wielding a buster sword would ever come true.

The SOLDIER program valued swordplay and hand-to-hand combat the most in their cadets, with materia use as a second, though mako enhancements could make anyone a decent caster. Which was why Cloud was in a training room on a Sunday morning, practicing all the martial arts he'd picked up from last year.

He'd learned a little in the army since it was helpful, but Cloud's memory failed him for a lot of the earlier stuff. He wanted a heads-up though, for when they started, since he was even less confident in his ability to dodge punches.

"Y'know, you kinda suck at that."

Cloud jumped,  _again,_ and glared over at the very familiar voice. Sure enough, Reno was leaning against the doorway, preventing it from closing. Before the cadet could protest, however, he bounded through the door and up to Cloud, looking smug as ever.

"There something you want, Reno?" Cloud said frostily, not in the mood for his crap.

"Just saying hello to my favorite cadet and wondering why he left our super secret meeting early, thats why." Reno grinned.

"It wasn't a good day," he said curtly, and tried to focus himself.

"Yeah, I feel you man…" The surprisingly sincere answer drew Cloud's attention and he looked fully over at the Turk. On the outside, Reno looked just fine, but his eyes seemed tired, and his gestures had none of the usual vigor to them. This ordeal with Hojo really was taking a toll on him, and here he was thinking that the red-head might not be sincere in his promise to help him.

"You okay?" Cloud suddenly blurted out. Reno's gaze flicked up to meet his uncertainly.

"Huh? Oh yeah, give me couple days, I'll be as glorious as the President's mustache," he said.

"Since when did the President have a mustache?"

"Since I said so. Now what exactly are you doing here?" Reno asked him.

"Trying to train hand-to-hand." Cloud figured he owed his friend an actual answer, since it was pretty obvious.

"Yeah. Trying's a good word for that. You suck." The red-head laughed.

"I suppose you are so much better and can deign to give me a few pointers?" Cloud snarled at him, not fond of the insult.

"You read my mind, Cloudy." Reno gave a dramatic bow and settled down across from the cadet.

"You're not serious."

"Man, give a guy a break! Tseng's got me off-duty for Shiva knows how long and with Rude tailin' me everywhere I go, I'm so fuckin' bored!" The Turk complained. "I have nothing to do, and I only just managed to shake Rude off."

Well, that sounded fair enough, and Cloud did need someone to train with. He shrugged, and Reno took that as a yes, smiling genuinely. It was an odd expression to see on the red-head's face, but not an unwelcome one. It made him seem like just a normal kid.

"Alright. Come at me, yo." Reno held his arms up in front of himself as a guard, his stance casually deceptive. Cloud suddenly swung out at him, and predictably, he was on his back in about three seconds.

"Man, you really are a lost cause!" Reno was laughing the entire time he was pulling Cloud up from the ground to try again. "The hell do they teach you in cadet training?"

Cloud merely made a rude gesture at his face, which only caused him to laugh even more. Incensed, the cadet was even more eager to hit him in the face, though that was a lost cause itself. Reno was far too fast and well-trained, and Cloud was far too clumsy.

Their 'training' consisted mostly of Cloud trying to attack the Turk, who almost immediately kicked him to the ground, while explaining what the hell he did so badly. Despite his burning anger at being so easily beaten, it was more fun a session then he had for awhile and they ended up as a sweaty mess on the ground.

"Okay that was fun, dude, we gotta do that again sometime." Reno held up a fist. The cadet lifted up his own and they gently bumped against each other before falling onto the ground. Cloud barely even noticed the stinging in his arm over all the new bruises his 'partner' had giving him.

"Fun for you. I'm the one getting beaten up." He growled.

"Awww, does Cloudy not like having someone one-up him?"

" _Cloudy_ does not appreciate being called that, and says if you call him that again, he really will break your face."

"Love to see you try." Reno snorted, then yelped in pain as Cloud jabbed him in the side. "Ow!"

It was Cloud's turn to laugh at the red-head's offended face and by the end of it, both of them were lying on the ground, attempting to stop giggling.

"Hey." Reno said suddenly, after they had calmed down. "It sounds like both of us need some time out of here and since we have a free day off…let's head down to the slums."

"Wait, what? Are you serious? Me, under the plate?" Cloud stared at him, unsure about this new prospect. Yeah, he needed to get out, and yeah, that sounded far enough, but he heard rumors of under the plate, that it was a dangerous place.

"Sure. You'll be fine with me there. What could possibly go wrong?" Reno stretched out a hand to help him stand up.

"Please don't say that with a straight face," Cloud grumbled, but took the proffered hand anyway. Why not?

* * *

_I find it strange in the story of the Crimson Devil how he is called such a thing, and yet his story is about freedom, about growing angel wings and flying. It seems in many of these stories, angel's wings bring only sadness and pain, despite what they are supposed to symbolize. I wonder why that is._

_Is it because the Calamity the Cetra spoke of came to this world on the wings of a bird? Or is it because people viewed anyone who could have that much power monsters?_

_Either way, I wish I knew the end to the story. I want to know if the Crimson Devil and his friend survived, for they seemed to have such a great bond. It is said that the tears of his friend healed the Crimson Devil's heart, despite him turning into a monster. My son always liked that part._

_-The Crimson Devil_

_from the files of Uther Strife_


	17. Other Side

"You realize he's never just going to sit down and take it?" Cissnei said, talking about Tseng's red-headed problem.

Yes, he knew very well Reno wouldn't be able to deal with being off-duty for more than a day, but he hoped that the younger Turk would find a non-destructive way to entertain himself while they figured out what Hojo had done to him.

"I know, but I have no choice. Rude is looking after him so he doesn't get into too much trouble. The last thing we need is more scrutiny." With this latest incident involving Reno, Tseng had dropped all caution to the wind and hacked into Hojo's personal files about his experiments. It was one thing to use test subjects with questionable morality; it was quite another to use his own people for those very twisted ends.

And with Vincent Valentine confirmed to be alive, Tseng was very certain this wasn't the first time. He had sent Cissnei to follow up on where he had gone, but Aerith had refused to talk. He felt a bit guilty, pressuring her, but Tseng was being demanded answers from all directions and he needed to keep the rest of his people safe.

There had been no traces of anything related to Reno, but Tseng had suspected that might happen. As paranoid as he was, Hojo probably expected the Turk leader to break into his files and thus hid anything he might want away from prying eyes.

That is, everything but one crucial piece of information: Cloud Strife's original file. Beckoning for Cissnei to come and look at this with him, he leaned closer to the screen as he pulled it up.

"Is this that student Zack keeps talking about? The one that Hojo wants?" She asked. Tseng said nothing and just nodded to her.

"Weird. His file looks perfectly normal," She said, staring at the first page.

"Yes, I know." His profile matched up with the official one on record on all counts. All the basic information remained the same, including his physical and mental scores on the SOLDIER tests. So why the secrecy?

It only took him pulling up the next page to figure out why.

"Dear Minerva…" he swore softly and heard a sharp intake of breath from Cissnei behind him. The mako readings were off the charts, and that was putting it nicely. Tseng never paid too close attention but he was sure that this record beat that of anyone ever involved in the SOLDIER program, including the General, Angeal and Genesis.

_And yet he was failed out of SOLDIER…._

"Hojo must've edited this information and flunked him out manually," Cissnei breathed and Tseng could only agree with her. Scores like these would make Cloud a valuable asset to the company.

"Why fail him out then? Hojo would know that he'd get dropped into the standing army," Tseng started to say, but then was stopped by a chilling thought.

He had to think like a mad scientist, not like a Turk.

"No one would question if a trooper just disappeared." Cissnei voiced his thoughts out loud.

"While a SOLDIER cadet with his records would be under close scrutiny," Tseng finished. "That must be why he's so insistent on Reno bringing him back."

"And why he's been in a bad mood recently," the bronze-haired Turk said. "Zack took him as a student, and now we're prying into it."

"Hmm." Tseng stared at the results a moment longer before saving himself a copy and sending the files back to where they belonged. They had solved the mystery of why exactly Hojo was interested in such an obscure cadet, but it only opened the door to so many more questions. After all, what would produce readings like that, and what exactly was Hojo planning to do with him? And other than retrieval, how was Reno involved?

That train of thought was broken when Rude entered his office, looking unusually harried. Not waiting for any confirmation from either of them, he immediately broke into words.

"Reno managed to throw me off. He's disappeared and taken Cloud with him." Rude said curtly.

Tseng just stared at him for a bit. He could not have one day, could he? Just one day of not making his life more difficult.

"Do you know  _where_ they have gone?" he asked, resisting the urge to rub his temples.

"Under the slums."

Cissnei stood up suddenly. "I've heard reports of AVALANCHE activity rising under the plates. Several pockets have formed up ever since their loss of a leader."

That urge intensified. If Reno and Cloud got in trouble down there, there was absolutely no way he'd be able to protect them. From Hojo or worse.

"Rude, Cissnei, you know what to do." They did and left, sparing their boss any further headaches.

* * *

"Are you sure I shouldn't bring weapons?" Cloud asked, looking over at Reno, who was still casually slouching outside the door to their barracks. He still stuck out like a sore thumb, with his suit and all, but the red-head had insisted Cloud get changed into civilian clothes first.

"Anyone below plate just has some cheap shit, man. If you're gonna bring weapons just hide them well, that's all I'm sayin'." Reno waved his hand.

"Easy for you to say, all I have is a sword and I'm not carrying that around," he grumbled, resolving himself to get a better arsenal of weapons as soon as possible, since he couldn't trust materia. He kept the Odin along for comfort and as a last resort, but otherwise Cloud wanted to stay very, very far away from the shiny stones.

"What about my injuries?" Cloud asked again, but was waved off.

"Hey, that might help you. Make's you look tougher than normal." As Cloud glared at him, the Turk grinned and hopped away to a safe distance. The cadet just shook his head and entered the room. Most of the other boys were gathered on the far side, playing some sort of game that Cloud didn't really care what it was, and Rin and Seth were in their beds. Seth grunted a greeting at Cloud, who just nodded, and then grabbed his clothes, quickly changing.

It was an old outfit, the one he'd worn from Nibelheim to Midgar, so it was faded and slightly patchy, but still fit. His arms felt light after all that heavy fabric he had to wear, and it was really warm, too.

"Going somewhere?" Rin asked, poking his head over the top of the bunk. The blonde cadet merely nodded, not sure what else to add.

"A friend decided I uh, needed to get out some." he said eventually. It wasn't entirely untrue, after all. They just didn't need to know that place was the slums, an area they were warned never to go unless necessary.

_I'm with a Turk though. That's the safest I'm ever gonna get._

"Well good for you then, have fun." Both of them turned back to what they were doing, which was sleeping and reading, respectively. For once Cloud was glad the two never asked too many questions of him, as it would lead to some rather awkward answers. Noticing a few stares from the stragglers at the group in the corner, he quickly emptied his pockets of everything he didn't want to lose and slipped some spare gil into his shoe.

He gave himself a final pat down. That was all good enough, right?  _It almost feels like I'm going into a warzone,_ he thought wryly, before the door opened behind him. Apparently that wasn't fast enough for Reno, who hopped inside to annoy Cloud.

"Why the hell does it take you five hours to get dressed?" The red-head grumbled, stopping to lean against the bunk this time.

"For your information, it was five minutes. You're just impatient." Cloud ignored him for the rest of it and put away all his belongings safely, especially the storybook. "Now can we go?"

He was unaware until the moment Rin spoke the weird looks they were getting from all around the room. When Reno had entered, almost the entire room had stopped and now faces were covered in various stages of shock and fear.

"You're friends with a Turk?" Rin's voice sounded like he was being strangled, and his brother seemed to agree with him.

"Um, friends is a relative term, but yes?" Cloud said, wondering what had them all on edge. Reno however, was eating up every moment of it, even taking the time to smile and wink at a bunch of the cadets. His eyes however, caught on Fletcher and his bunch and they narrowed. The bullies visibly paled and a couple even backed up from Reno's glare.

Cloud looked between them, wondering if he should laugh or break it up. It apparently  _was_  the Turk reputation. He recalled before meeting Tseng and Reno that he too, had been terrified of the Turks, since they only showed up when something big was going down, and were the tools of Hojo and the President themselves.

So it was very odd seeing it from the other side, no longer being totally afraid of them. Rin didn't say anything else but as he settled back, Cloud could see the bigger boy keeping tabs on Reno through the corner of his eye.

"Let's get goin', Cloudy. Don't wanna stick around any longer," Reno said easily, never breaking eye contact with the other boys even once. The blonde in question merely grumbled something about show-offs under his breath and snatched up the scarf he kept from his trooper uniform, wrapping it around his neck.

"I've been ready this whole time," he muttered, waiting for Reno by the door. The Turk glared them down for a minute longer before making the slightest of sudden moves towards them, causing half the room, including Seth, to jump. Reno let out a short bark of laughter at their reaction and just as swiftly turned around and followed Cloud to the door.

"Do you take some sort of perverse pleasure in making cadets flip their shit around you just because you're a Turk?" Cloud asked him as they left the room. The door hissed closed, taking the frightened stares of his roomates with them.

"Oh you have  _no_ idea."

* * *

Truth be told, Vincent had not yet headed out for Cosmo Canyon. He was curious about his past and the strange events that surrounded him and the little blonde trooper who had freed him from his prison, but it felt wrong to abandon the situation as it was. Sephiroth was relying upon him for information, and it was unlike the retired Turk to let Lucrecia's son down.

But, just as before, the slums were not a good place to search for information. He entertained the idea of sneaking up topside, but with his recent foray into the church, Vincent didn't want to risk it. He needed less scrutiny, or Hojo would learn of his existence, and he loathed to be a part of that man's machinations ever again.

AVALANCHE seemed to have lost its leader and many pockets of it had splintered off into separate groups, confused as into who was in charge. Sensing no threat from them, Vincent ignored the terrorist group. They were of no use to him.

Other than the Cetra in the church, however, there seemed to be no points of interest. He wanted to be close to the others in case trouble happened and Shinra made its inevitable move, but Vincent was growing restless. Cosmo Canyon awaited.

He slowly moved along the alleyways, being careful of the drug dealers and gangs who hung out there as well. No one ever challenged him; they could sense something not human lurked in his eyes, but Vincent didn't want to deal with them.

_Perhaps…if Sephiroth does not call me today, I will move out to Cosmo Canyon,_ he thought, crouching down on top of a trashcan.

Wait. There was something following him. It was something small and not human, but giving off the distinct smell of materia. Acting no different then usual, Vincent's right hand drifted down to Cerberus, ready to fire. The rustling down the end of the alley stopped, and the Turk froze in place, waiting. After a few moments of waiting, it started up again and kept heading towards the red-caped man.

Vincent suddenly drew himself up to full height, drawing out the gun and aiming it at the small shadowy figure who suddenly bounced into visibility.

* * *

"You absolutely sure that shirt is warm enough?" Reno asked, staring incredulously at Cloud's rather threadbare short-sleeved shirt. The blonde cadet merely stared at him until the Turk realized.

"Oh. Right. Nibelheim native. Your blood is like part snow or somethin', I forgot." The two of them were waiting for the train that would take them down to below the plate. Reno had changed out of his suit to a more casual outfit-keeping the goggles of course-but still managed to attract a ton of attention due to his obnoxious nature.

"More like this feels like a Nibelheim summer," Cloud said. It had taken a ton of time to get used to the temperature differences between the two areas, when he realized that these city folk had no idea how to react to any sort of weather at all. It got just a bit cool-according to Cloud-outside, and everyone was wrapped up in jackets like it was the end of the world.

_City folk,_ he muttered to himself as the train arrived. Reno had told Cloud to keep his Shinra ID on him at all times, since while many people below plate hated Shinra, it would get them on the train far easier.

There were only around two or three people that got on the train with the two, and Cloud kept noticing the passengers giving them distrustful looks as they sat down.

"Why is everyone staring at us?" he hissed to his companion, who was slouched easily on the torn up seat.

"Probably cause we're a couple a teenagers. They always 'attract trouble' if you know what I mean. An' maybe a couple of them recognize me," Reno said casually, smiling at anyone who dared to look his way.

"You really aren't helping, you know."

"I know." The red-head grinned again and closed his eyes, the train taking off and nearly causing Cloud to fall on the ground.

_I'm beginning to regret this idea,_ Cloud thought sourly as the train began the journey down below the plate. Then again, he needed to get out and distract himself, especially from Zack, who was his only other friend. He didn't know why the first class was so annoyed with him, and Cloud didn't himself, he just  _was._ It was eating him up inside because of how important Zack was, but he just needed to get away.

_I'll go apologize or something and talk to him later. For now, I'll just chill out. I need a break._ Of course, this was a break with Reno, which was guaranteed to be anything but.

* * *

The shadow following Vincent turned out to be a rather large stuffed cat with a crown on its head. It appeared to be riding a moogle of all things, and carried a megaphone in its hand like a weapon. The Turk pointed Cerberus at it, confused. What was a doll doing down here, and why was it moving?

"Would ye like a fortune?" The cat suddenly spoke in a strange accent, and Vincent just stared at it. Now it could talk? The doll continued to stare at him, or at least the Turk suspected, since its eyes were closed.

"Would ye like a fortune, Mister Shadow Guy?" The cat repeated, bouncing up and down on top of the moogle. Vincent did not move, nor did his gun.

"What are you?" he finally deigned to speak, seeing nothing useful coming out of this conversation.

"My name is Cait Sith, I'm just a wee resident o' the alleys around this here place, just like you, Mister Caped Man," The cat said, thankfully stopping his bouncing. "You're a regular local legend and I just had to find out who you were!"

Vincent pulled back the safety on his gun, making an audible click, and the stuffed cat covered its eyes with its hands.

"You're not real. Who's controlling you?" he snarled, not wanting to deal with Shinra's tricks, even if a caped cat doll seemed a bit outlandish for them.

"I feel insulted, Mr. Caped Man. I'm just as real as you are!" Cait Sith seemed to droop down on top of his moogle ride, depressed. Vincent cocked his head, a little curious. He didn't like cats, but this was a very well made automaton and artificial intelligence was not beyond Shinra's capabilities.

"AI?" he guessed, and the cat doll brightened up again.

"Ye got me there, laddie! That's exactly what I am!" Cait Sith stared dancing again and Vincent slowly, but surely lowered his gun. He didn't sheathe it for sure, but the stuffed animal didn't seem that much of a threat to him right now.

"What is your purpose?" he asked quietly, and the cat ceased dancing around to be thoughtful.

"Already told you Mr. Caped Man! I wanted t' find out who ye are! There aren't that many shadowy men with red eyes jus' trapezin' around, y'know!" The doll settled down on the giant moogle's head, and briefly, Vincent wondered how such a creation could've survived being in the slums like it-he-was. As the robotic cat shifted, the Turk's keen eyes spotted the glow of materia behind his cape and no longer questioned why. Obviously someone at Shinra had designed it to be a weapon, though why the person had chosen a giant talking cat of all things, he had no idea.

_Perhaps he thought the design so ridiculous, no one would take it seriously,_ Vincent thought, darkly amused. In fact, he himself was having a hard time taking the cat seriously. If it weren't for the materia and the fact it was a highly sophisticated automaton, he might've even passed it off as a science experiment gone wrong.

But one never trusted a seemingly innocuous creation for too long.

"Who created you?" Vincent demanded again, ignoring Cait Sith's comments. He was sure that was not the cat's only purpose. The cat however, was infuriatingly vague.

"If ye want to know, you'll just have to wait for the answer. It's not safe for me to tell ya, Vincent Valentine!" Cait Sith said cheerfully. Vincent froze in place. He had not once said his name to the robot. He quickly brought Cerberus up again and nocked it at the cat's face, ready to blow its head off, but the doll did not seem to be fazed.

"Are ye wonderin' why I know your name, Mr. Valentine?" Cait Sith asked, smiling at him. He did nothing but smile.

"I will give you five seconds before I kill you," Vincent said, causing the cat to shriek and hide behind the moogle he rode on.

"Mercy, mister. I don't wanna die! I may be able to tell ya, for a price!" Cait Sith peeked out from behind the head of the moogle to see if the retired Turk was listening. Vincent said nothing, but did not shoot.

"I overheard yer conversation wit' the wee lass in the church and heard you were goin' to Cosmo Canyon. I've always wished to go to the place and it sounds like the perfect opportunity," the cat whispered, as if someone were going to overhear them.

"And what does Shinra want there?"

"It's not what Shinra wants, its what I do! I'm lookin' for answers I can't find anywhere else, Mr. Valentine. Would ye be so kind as to indulge a poor cat like me?" Cait Sith asked innocently.

There was something a bit too shady going on here for his liking. He silently turned and started walking away, not wanting to bother with the talking cat. Cait Sith however, bounced after him, not giving up.

"I'll take yer silence for yes then, Mr. Valentine."

Said Turk in question stopped suddenly in his tracks, not at all accepting of this new partner. "Go away."

Why he didn't kill the thing, Vincent didn't know, but it posed no threat to him in his current condition. Plus, he was curious as to who had the skill to control something like this.

"Even when I have information y' need?" The cat asked, cocking his head.

Vincent waited.

"Like about yer old friend Hojo, an' who in Shinra is fresh on your tail." Cait Sith's own twitched from side to side. "I can tell ye what ye want, if ye help me out in return."

Definitely something shady. But not only did this robot know who he was, he also was a source of information Vincent and his companions sorely needed.

"If you can keep up." He would sort out this person's motivations later. The cat jumped up excitedly as Vincent took off, and the strange pair moved through the shadows, heading for the edge of the city.

* * *

This was the first time he'd ever been in the slums. Cloud was shivering, but it certainly wasn't from the chill in the air. It was from the giant metal plate looming over the sky, the way there was no wind to brush away the smell, and the state of the people who lived in the slums.

Cloud was probably the poorest resident in Nibelheim, but this down here was a different story. There was trash and scraps scattered everywhere, and occasionally he'd see a dirty person rooting around in it, hoping for something useful. Underneath the rubble, the cadet could hear the skittering of feet from rats and he swore he saw a monster's tail slip around behind a dilapidated building.

It was terrible.

The air was lank and stale, smelling of something horrible and Cloud nearly choked on it as he came out of the train, earning a warning glance from Reno. The air had always been fresh and clear where he lived, this was unbelievable! With a few soft words from his friend, he was moving along, attracting the stares of many passerby. They seemed to be of all wildly different builds and appearances, but one thing was the same; the sunken, hunted look in their faces.

The houses they lived in were held together with nails and prayers, built out of whatever junk that had been lying around; he even recognized a LOVELESS billboard. Wood seemed to be in short supply, so everything was made of metal and the occasional cloth spread out over a doorway. The poverty only grew with every step and Cloud couldn't bear to take his eyes away.

_This is terrible..is this really how the other half lives?_ It was such a shock to come from the high-tech paradise of Midgar to well, here, where there barely was enough electricity to even light some of the houses.

"Why are they staring at me?" he whispered to Reno through a dry mouth.

"'Cause you're starin' at them, Cloud. Come on. This is one of the more dangerous sections, keep an eye out."

He couldn't do anything but keep an eye out, afraid of what lay in the shadowy corners of the buildings. It wasn't that he was afraid the poverty would rub off on him-he'd had way too much of that already-but Cloud was afraid they would find out where he was from and tear him apart. Cloud felt the knife Reno had given him in his sleeve, trying to reassure himself that no, nothing would happen and kept his eyes on Reno's back.

The red-head was right. The sector they came down in wasn't that great, but by the time they arrived at the place Reno was looking for, everything was much livelier and colorful. The buildings were still made from prayers and trash, but people were milling about and mostly yelling at passerby, trying to hawk off goods.

"A-a market?" Cloud asked, fascinated. He'd heard about these, but never really saw one, as Nibelheim was far too small for any such event.

"Yep. Welcome to Market Street, probably the best an' only place to buy shit under the plate. There are other stores 'round, but they'd best be saved for when you know what you're lookin' for," Reno said, grinning at his friend. "You never seen a market before, country boy?"

The livelier atmosphere and seemingly chipper people cheered him up somewhat, and he shoved the Turk away.

"Shut up, it's hard to get out when you have a maximum population of a hundred," Cloud growled, not really angry. Reno merely snickered and danced away again. "Well cheer up. We're out of the worst sections now, so we can have fun! It's not all garbage and nasty, you hear me?"

So Reno had noticed his distress.  _Just like a Turk._ But the red-head was right, and he really needed to focus. He'd come down here to distract himself from his troubles, not add to them. The red-head, delighted to have someone else with him, began to take him on a comprehensive tour of Market Street, pointing out stalls and stores of every type. Cloud was an eager listener, increasingly curious about every new shiny thing he set his eyes on, enough that he quickly forgot where he was.

"Wait a minute, is that a tank?" The cadet asked, passing by a very obviously proclaimed weapons shop.

"Yeah. Don't ask. I've been tryin' to get that dude to tell me where he got it for ages but he hasn't cracked. Less so with my new job," Reno said, munching on something questionable that Cloud didn't remember his friend having before.

"Did you…find that on the ground?" he asked. Reno glanced at his food.

"Maybe."

"And you're….eating it."

Reno finished off the last bite and tossed the wrapper over his shoulder. "Waste not, want not, my blonde friend. First rule of the slums."

_Wait a minute._ Cloud had realized something odd about his friend. "How do you know so much about the slums down here?"

For once, Reno didn't seem to want to answer his question, just kept wandering down the street towards a food shop. "C'mon Cloudy, I thought it was obvious."

The cadet was about to answer him when a small group of kids, about their age, pushed past him. He only caught a few words, but it was more then enough to realize their accent was the same as Reno's.

"You…you're from here!" he said suddenly, but was cut off by a woman shouting Reno's name.

"RENO!" The two of them turned to see an older woman, wearing a rather worn skirt and blouse, tied together with a colorful shawl hurrying towards them through the crowd. Cloud was confused, as he'd never seen this lady before, but the red-head clearly knew her from the panicked expression on his face.

"Ellie? What are you doing here?" was all he got out before the lady swept him up in a crushing hug.

"Oh, I hadn't heard from you in a year! I was so worried a monster or some mad scientist got you," she said frantically into Reno's jacket, before standing back and getting a good look at him. "But my, you've grown!"

Was this Reno's mother? They looked nothing alike, with Reno's hair being a bright red, and this woman's a dark brown, almost black color, but she seemed to know him very well. The Turk actually seemed a bit embarrassed from the attention, rolling his eyes and shuffling away.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me. And you know I'm too quick t' get eaten by any of those things, Ellie," Reno said, huffing just a little bit. Truth be told, the red-head did look happy to see her, with the way he'd brightened up and was actually answering her questions fully. Cloud was curious, and it only took a second for the woman to notice him too.

"And is this a friend of yours, Reno?" The woman, Ellie, asked, turning to Cloud. Once again, he felt a bit embarrassed that she was the same height as him, but it only lasted for a little while until she smiled at him. "What's your name then?"

"Um, Cloud Strife, ma'am," he said, bowing his head slightly, and she smiled warmly at him for a second time.

"Well you obviously haven't picked up your manners from Reno here. I'm Ellie Mainstream," she said, pulling him into an unexpected hug, after which she turned back to the embarrassed Turk. "I'm betting you're wondering how I know your friend here."

"You could say that again," Cloud muttered. Right when he realized the truth about Reno's origin, this lady came up and started talking to them, almost like it was fate. Could he actually get some answers to this mysterious red-head?

Ellie laughed. "Well my dears, why don't you come have a cup of tea with me, and we can catch everyone up. Does that sound okay?"

The two of them nodded, Cloud the only one actually hesitating, and began to follow her through the winding paths of people.

* * *

"I see. So you're a Turk now?" Ellie asked. They were seated in an out of the way area at one of the slightly more reputable cafes on the street, though Cloud took that reputation with a grain of salt. Reno nodded somewhat eagerly, and the cadet was left to wonder at the change that had come over his friend.

Normally he seemed slick and casual, but in a dangerous way, like a slingshot ready to spring, and full of sarcastic humor, with that mischievous glint in his eyes that just spelled trouble. But now, here, talking to Ellie, Reno seemed more like a sixteen year old kid that had gone home to see his mother. He wasn't wound up, and the look in his eyes wasn't hunted, but rather sparkling with excitement. Cloud had never seen him like this except the one time he'd smiled at his acceptance to come here.

Being a part of the Turks and growing up here must've taken a toll on him, he realized, perhaps more than he ever let on to anyone. He never quite got a chance to be a real kid.

_Just like me, I suppose._

"Well y'know, had to get out somehow. With what Lee told me," Reno was absently scratching at his left eye again. "Even if it's Shinra."

"No, I understand. I'm just happy you're okay and seem to have gotten out of here for good," Ellie smiled sadly, then poked at the red-head's ribs. "And put some meat on those bones."

Reno protested, slapping her hand away. "I am not that skinny!"

Ellie merely raised an eyebrow, and Reno surprisingly, relented. "Okay maybe a little. But Rude makes me eat food. Mostly 'cause he don't like it lying around."

Cloud noticed his voice was slipping deeper into the rough accent used by people under the plate, now that they were away from all the city people.

"Rude's my partner, yo," he explained after seeing the confused look on Ellie's face.

"Well, I hope you aren't giving him too much trouble." She fixed him with a stern look, before turning back to Cloud.

"Oh, I'm sorry, my dear, I got so excited at seeing my little boy again that I forgot about you!" She apologized profusely, but the cadet just shook his head.

"It's fine, I'm okay just listening, ma'am," he said, not wanting to disturb the reunion.

"Please, Cloud, call me Ellie. Any friend of Reno's is a friend of mine." She patted one of his hands and then leaned back slightly.

"More like he wants to pry into my life," the Turk grumbled, actually pouting for once. Cloud merely shrugged. It was kind of true.

"Well, I'll clear up some confusion here. I took care of your friend here when he was just a small child living in the slums. His mother died in my care, and I run an orphanage, so…" Ellie left off the end, but Cloud knew what she was implying. So that's why she seemed so mother-like, and yet they didn't look like each other at all.

"I see. There are a lot of those orphanages around here?" Cloud asked, trying to get the subject off of Reno a bit, since he'd slouched down in his chair and the cadet felt weird prying into his friend's life like that.

Ellie sighed. "Sadly, yes. There are a lot of orphaned children on the streets and we try to give them a home and a little bit of an education so they can hope for something more, but more often than not, we serve as a hospital for mothers and sick children. Resources are very limited. I try to do what I can to keep them off the streets and out of gangs, but well…"

Cloud didn't expect Shinra was very willing to give them any support, given the state the slums already were in.

"It's hard to find the support, right?" he said.

"Yes." She smiled sadly. "Shinra, unfortunately, doesn't find our work to be important to them since it doesn't involve mako. I heard the only reason our funding hasn't been cut completely is because of a certain Reeve Tuesti."

That name sounded familiar. "Reeve Tuesti?"

Reno picked up the conversation from here. "Yeah. The guy is on the board of directors that advise the President, an' I'm fully convinced he's the only sane one of the bunch."

Right. Reno did have to stand guard for all of them, so he would know.

"Well, at least that man seems to have a good head on his shoulders. And handsome to boot," Ellie said, sighing again, earning an annoyed glance from Reno.

"Oh, ew, do you have to say that in front of me? Come on!" He protested, and the older lady just laughed.

"I may be old, but I can still appreciate a fine man when I see one," she said, and Cloud couldn't help but smile along. There was something about this woman that seemed warm and comforting, and she reminded him of his own mother, stuck back home at Nibelheim. Though wildly different in personality and looks, they had the same protective and caring grace about them.

Reno was still pulling a face at her. "Y'know, you should be careful what you say to whom. Not all Turks are as stunningly handsome and friendly as me."

"Yeah, they're all better looking than you, that's for sure," Cloud shot back and Reno lunged over the table to strangle him.

"I'll get you for that, you little jerk!" And the next few minutes consisted of them tussling with each other and Ellie trying to break them apart.

"Boys, boys! Settle down!" She grabbed both of them by the arms and dragged them back into their seats, glaring at them until they apologized, rather grudgingly.

"I assume this happens a lot," she said in a stern voice, but Cloud could see the corners of her mouth turning up.

"Sadly, yes. Reno is a complete idiot sometimes, despite his reputation," he said, pointedly ignoring the red-head making rude faces at him. Ellie just shook her head.

"As for your statement Reno, I doubt I'm a threat to Shinra at all. These are merely the grumblings of an old woman. I make do with what I can, you know that," the older lady said.

She stared at the wall, her cup of tea forgotten, much like all of theirs had been. Reno, however, sensed something to be bothering her.

"Anythin' wrong, yo?" he asked, and she looked up and sighed.

"Well actually, yes. Lately I've been taking the kids out to a playground on the far side of sector Four to get some time outside, but it's dangerous and on the edge of gang activity," Ellie explained.

"What happened to that one place me an' Lee-" Reno's face twisted suddenly when he said that name-"me and a few others used to hang out? It's much closer."

Ellie shook her head. "I would, but it's been overrun by monsters and not safe anymore. And there's no one around here who can take them out, since I haven't the gil pay for it."

Cloud had perked up at the mentioning of monsters. That sounded like something he could deal with and fighting always cheered him up. Plus, Ellie was a nice lady and he wanted to help her out.

Reno rolled his head over to him. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin' Cloudy?"

He slowly smiled. "Oh, of course I am."

Ellie looked at both of them, confused and Reno stood up. "Well, you needn't ask further. You have a fully trained Turk and certified SOLDIER cadet here to help clean out monsters."

"Oh no, I couldn't-"

"But I want to help. Besides, I came down here to get my mind off of things, and this seems like a fun way. It really isn't any trouble," Cloud reassured her.

Ellie still seemed a bit uncertain, but at last let up and began to smile again. "Well, if you two say so. I'm so glad you'll be able to help!"

Reno turned to leave, but she grabbed his ear suddenly. "Just don't you go putting yourself and your lovely friend in danger, Reno. I don't want you to get hurt."

The red-head squirmed. "Come on, I'm a Turk, I'll be fine! And Cloud here's good with a sword. We'll take care of it, you'll see."

"Alright, then. Stay safe you two!" She said, waving at the two as they stood up and said their goodbyes. There was no time to waste.

* * *

It took them getting halfway to the playground before Cloud realized something important.

"Shit, I don't have my sword!" he said suddenly, stopping fast enough that Reno nearly ran into him.

"Right..forgot about that one." The Turk scrunched his face up, thinking. "Well we could stop by the weapons guy but that might be a bit suspicious…don't you have materia on you?"

Cloud glared at him. "Unless you want me to summon Odin on some low level monsters, I don't think so. The doctor said to stay away from it, or do you not remember I froze like five people solid?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it, chocobo head. Calm yourself." Reno seemed to be fussing with his sleeve, and then suddenly out of nowhere he had his EMR ready in his hand. Tossing it over to Cloud, he put a finger up in his face.

"You even think about bustin' it, and they won't find the body," Reno said, and the cadet didn't doubt that. However, not one to take him completely seriously, he merely stuck his tongue out at the Turk, who made a rude hand gesture in return.

"Why the hell would I do that?" Cloud grumbled, swinging the EMR around a little bit to get used to it. It was far lighter then his sword, but made a satisfying crackling noise whenever it came near something. He could make do.

"Man, I've seen what you've done to your swords in the past. No fancy shit, an' after we're done here, you give it right back," Reno said, crossing his arms.

"You've never been this nice. Is she really that important?" Cloud asked, changing the subject, but like he expected, Reno dodged the question.

"Jus' doin' my duty as a member of Shinra. Plus I'm bored and I can piss Tseng off more if I've been out killin' monsters." The red-head suddenly started running towards the playground and Cloud had to rush to keep up.

"Well that's good and all, but who is this Lee person that you mentioned?" As the words left his mouth, Cloud immediately knew he'd said something wrong when Reno turned on him suddenly, his expression deadly.

"I came to the slums to kick back a bit, not have you pry into my life,  _got it?"_ He spoke the last two words with such malice that Cloud didn't even talk back, he just nodded, wide-eyed. A strange change had come over his friend again, but this one was a lot scarier then how he'd been acting with Ellie. The mere mention of a name had turned Reno's gaze to the gaunt, hunted look of the people who had nothing.

There obviously had been much more going on with the red-haired Turk than he ever had imagined. He'd forgotten, with their identities and lies and weaving tales that Turks were people too. They had lives once and pasts that got thrown away when they joined up. And none too soon, it seemed to be with Reno's case.

The Turk in question held Cloud's gaze for a little longer, and then turned around, stalking towards the wire fence that surrounded the playground. The cadet stared at him for a minute, confused. Reno seemed to be..hesitating?

"When I was down here, I always wondered what the sky looked like." Reno's voice was completely serious as he pointed a finger up to the looming grey plate. "I'd never seen it. I wanted to get out of here. I wasn't gonna end up like the rest of them, wastin' away their life in the trash down here."

_Just like the Crimson Devil. The homeless boy who dreamed of flying._

Cloud opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't really know how to go about it. Reno had just confessed something to him that was obviously close to his heart, and he didn't know how to react to the normally mischievous Turk being completely serious.

"I wanted to see it rain." Reno seemed about to say more but footsteps inside the playground shook both of them out of the moment.

"Get down!" He hissed to the cadet, and both of them dove behind a large, shattered piece of rock to see what this new disturbance was.

"That doesn't sound like monsters," Cloud said softly to his partner.

"No shit, Cloud. The question is, what are people doing inside there? It's supposed t' be infested!" Reno peeked out and swore, immediately pulling his head back.

Cloud looked as well, but all he could see was a group of people, heavily armed. He recognized none of them, but…

"Is that?" Cloud didn't even have to finish his question before Reno started nodding grimly.

"That's AVALANCHE."

 


	18. Loveless, Act II

" _Dreams of the morrow hath the shattered soul. Pride is lost…wings stripped away, the end is nigh."_ A voice carried on the wind as the black-winged man stood atop the cliffside. The land stretched out beneath him, barren in feeling and devoid of people. A few feathers drifted continuously down as the figure thought about what had happened in the little snowy village.

He had gone there in hopes of reuniting the three friends who played out the story of Loveless and to confront the false hero that lay within Sephiroth, but he had been interrupted by something he had never expected.

A strange, small, blonde-haired boy who carried within him the will of the Goddess. Or at least, that was how he was interpreting it. After all, the resemblance was too uncanny and with his own skill, he could sense there was more to this boy than anyone had caught on to.

Perhaps that was why he had not killed him then and there? Or perhaps he still believed himself a hero, not the monster Hollander had created in him?

_I am dying, yes. And I promised to bring the whole world with me if I were to turn into a monster. Is that not what they do?_

_And yet what do you ask of me, Goddess, so I may finally receive your gift?_

It was unfair, so unfair, that Angeal and Sephiroth seemed to be living on without him, not even a single care as to where their friend had gone. Angeal at least had come with him for a short period, but he too, turned away, and now the faithful soldier was left all alone.

Well, he would see them dead then, if that's what it took for him to receive his Gift.

* * *

Angeal was sorely missing his friends, and oddly enough, his student. While in Shinra, he hadn't been happy with the dishonorable way they had handled things, and if it wasn't for Sephiroth and Genesis, he would've had no ties to the place. But then Zack Fair had come along, and like many other people, he had stolen his heart.

Not in the romantic way, but a little jealously, Angeal had to admit his new student was shaping up to be everything he wished SOLDIER  _would_  be. Heroic, strong, kind, and always willing to go beyond the call of duty.

He of course, never told Zack this and regretted it fairly often, especially when he deserted Shinra. Abandoning his student left a horrible ache in his heart, more than he thought he could bear. Seeing Zack still fighting, he realized he had done too many dishonorable things, and while he was still a monster, he attempted to hand off his burden to Zack.

But something odd happened that he had never expected: a strange, small blonde-haired boy had appeared beside his student and started calling him, telling him to stop. He had told Angeal what he was doing was even worse then he imagined and in the end, he'd only hurt his precious friend and honor.

This strange boy hadn't run away despite nearly being killed. He hadn't backed down despite knowing Zack for a matter of hours and involved in things beyond his control, and slowly, in the eyes of those two, Angeal had begun to redeem himself.

He had wanted to die for so long, his wing merely a reminder of what Hollander-no, he-had turned himself into, but Zack and Cloud both believed in him.

"Angel's wings," Zack had said, the first time he'd seen Angeal after Banora. How could he be an angel, when he had been ready to let Zack kill him? Zack, the hero?

There would be no more time for self-pity now. Genesis needed him, and so did Zack. Sephiroth and Cloud did,for that matter. This was strange, Angeal realized. It was the first time he was able to count so many allies, so many people he trusted.

_Thank you Cloud, you did more than you know…_

So here he was in Wutai where he had heard rumors of a black-winged man flying about, among rebels and thieves, and all the replicas Genesis had of himself. Whether they were planning something or not, Angeal didn't rightly know, but he was just trying to find his friend. Despite the war that had taken place here, the older SOLDIER didn't know his way around this area very well, especially not having a map.

And definitely with his condition, for he had a hard time moving for too long, his hair constantly greying. Finding help from one of the locals, however, was out of the question. He still was SOLDIER after all and Angeal did not want to trouble them.

The answer for his conundrum, oddly enough, came from the bush over on his side, where Angeal had noticed something watching him for the past hour. He had first suspected it an animal of some kind, but this was far too intelligent and quiet to be one.

Quickly, in one fluid movement, he drew his other sword and with his left hand, reached into the bush, only to drag out a small, kicking, girl.

* * *

"I don't see how that is a good idea in the slightest!" Cloud hissed, peeking over the scrap pile at the group of heavily armed terrorists. "We are going to get into so much trouble!"

"Come on, how much worse trouble can we be in?" Reno answered, pulling Cloud down again so he wouldn't give away their position with his hair. "I ran away from my partner and we're both in the deep end with a mad scientist, so I don' think figurin' out what a bunch a' thugs are doing in a playground is gonna hurt our chances at survival much."

"Those aren't just a 'bunch of thugs'! That's AVALANCHE!" Cloud whispered angrily. "The terrorist group!"

"Well duh. I'm a Turk, I kinda have the low-down on these guys. An' it's my duty to investigate what exactly they are doing. Don't you wanna be a hero, Cloud?" Reno said, grinning. The cadet just glared at him. He really did take nothing seriously.

"There's nothing heroic about being a bunch of terrorists who just blow things up," he muttered, peering up at them again. "You said you have the low-down on them, so why are they hanging out in a playground?"

"Well…all I got is they don' have a leader anymore so a bunch of them jus' splintered off into different cells and are vyin' for the top spot. It's funny how their goal is to take down Shinra but all they can do is fight among themselves." Reno was shaking his head at the irony. "Just beautiful."

"I still don't want to go take them on, I don't even have a sword, and we could get killed or worse!" Cloud noticed recently the value of his life had gone up, now that he was fighting for much more than one almost forgotten dream.

"Never said we were going to take them on with force, yo. You forget what we Turks specialize in?" Reno asked, tapping the side of his head. Cloud was split in what he wanted to do, but what the AVALANCHE guys said next clinched the deal for him.

"You hear about that one dead SOLDIER guy? The one called Genesis or somethin'?"

"Yeah, what about 'im?"

"Heard from a buddy out west he was seen flying around in Wutai. Typical Shinra coverups. Makes me believe all these dead soldiers ain't as dead as they seem."

"Okay, how were you saying we get them?" Cloud asked, and Reno's grin became devilish.

"Knew you'd come around. Just…follow my lead, and try to pretend you're from down here, kay? And don't do anything…stupid," Reno said.

"Yeah, Goddess forbid that," he replied sarcastically as both of them casually rounded the pile of rubble and headed over to the playground.

* * *

Angeal was confused. Of all the things he was expecting to pull out of the bush, a young girl was not one of them. He was holding onto her collar and she was kicking and yelling threats at him. She could not have been more than eight years old, which begged the question of why she was out here on her lonesome. Where were her parents?

"Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you," he said, setting her down on the ground. The girl immediately sprang up again and tried to punch him but none of her punches ever actually came close. Angeal stared at her in continued confusion.

"I am a proud ninja warrior! You'll die by my hand, warrior scum!" She yelled, and attacked again, her blows wildly missing. Figuring it was better to play along with this girl's actions, Angeal suddenly doubled over as if she had hit him in his stomach.

"I yield..you are too powerful for me," he said, holding up a hand. The girl paused, staring at him for a moment, before throwing up her fists in triumph.

"Another victory for our great Wutai nation!" She cheered, jumping on the spot. Angeal watched her curiously, but he could sense no other movement around, or people. Could she be all…alone?

"Where are your parents?" He asked. The girl stopped celebrating and looked over at him, since he was now kneeling down.

"You're my prisoner, you're not supposed to ask questions," she said, huffing and folding her arms.

"Yes, true," he conceded, "but it's only fair of you to tell me of any companions of yours, now that you have defeated me."

She thought about it for a little bit. "Okay, fine. There's no one else here. I, the great ninja Yuffie, work alone!"

So her name was Yuffie, and she was alone out here in the wilderness…how had she survived this long? Was there more to this little girl then meets the eye?

"And since I have captured you," she continued, pointing her finger at the older man, " you have to give me all of your materia!"

Angeal stood up. There was no way he was going to play that far into this girl's delusions. He needed his materia for his own protection. He thought a minute about just leaving her behind, since she posed no threat to himself, but the leftover bits of honor inside of him rebelled against that idea. He couldn't just abandon Yuffie, and as she was a native Wutaiian she could help him out….

"I'm afraid I can't just give you my materia, I need them to protect myself," Angeal said, holding up a finger as Yuffie began to protest.

"However, I have a different proposition. One we can both better benefit out of. How about instead of being a prisoner…I become your bodyguard?" he asked. He really could use her help, after all, and she was out here all alone.

Yuffie cocked her head, and Angeal could almost see the gears in her head working. A few moments later she finally replied.

"Well…I am a great ninja…and great ninjas always need followers….and you're big and scary and you can help me find treasure…..okay, that works!" Yuffie said, jumping up again and grinning. "But only as long as you promise you're not out to get me and you aren't with those nasty Shinra people!"

_Oh, if only you knew…_ Still, it was refreshing to be around a kid again, one who didn't know of his terrible past. Her eagerness reminded him a little of Zack, and for once it wasn't painful.

"I promise. I will not harm you, and no harm shall come to you. I promise on my honor," Angeal finished, his hand resting on the hilt of his massive Buster Sword.

"You seem to be an okay guy. Deal." Yuffie held our her hand, and the SOLDIER took it, shaking it gently.

"Then it's settled. But you have to promise me not to try and steal my materia when I'm not looking," he said sternly, leveling his gaze at the little ninja. She stamped her foot, not pleased. "You're no fun!"

"Well, to be a bodyguard I need to be able to defend myself. If we find any, I'll be sure you can have them," he said, mentally rolling his eyes. What was this girl's obsession with materia?

Yuffie looked happy enough with that prospect. "Fine then. Onward to victory!"

* * *

Reno's bright idea happened to be walking straight into the playground without any cover at all. Luckily, Cloud had thought to shove the EMR up his sleeve much as his friend had done but he swore that after they were done with this, he was going to murder the red-head.

"Hey, you wanna smoke?" Reno asked rather loudly, producing a pack of cigarettes out of nowhere.

"What? Ew, no, I don't want lung cancer, you idiot," Cloud shot back, glaring at the Turk. Reno gestured his head towards the park.

"Come on, Jeff, since when are you such a goody-two-shoes?" he kept drawling as they wandered over to the wire fence that covered the entrance. So this was his plan. Just absolutely wonderful.  _Well, he did say act like he was from around here_. Cloud slouched in the spot and did his best to imitate all the bullies that had tormented him in Nibelheim and the barracks.

"Since I nearly died from catching a cold last summer,  _Lee,"_ the cadet said in revenge, and Reno's face darkened. He drew a line across his throat, promising revenge-wow, he looked seriously pissed-and pushed open the gate.

The smile returned to the Turks face as he said his next line. "Fine then. More for me." He pulled one of the cigarettes out of the pack and put it in his mouth, patting around his jacket, probably for a lighter. Cloud could spot the AVALANCHE thugs who were looking over in their direction, having noticed all the noise the two were causing.

"Dammit, did I forget my lighter?" Reno muttered, turning out his pockets. Faking surprise, Cloud kept staring at the AVALANCHE guys with his mouth slightly open before nudging his friend in the side.

"Dude. There's people here."

"I got other things to worry about-"

"Dude, they're coming over this way!" Cloud was right; since the two teenagers had entered the park, the other occupants had wandered over, flashing their weaponry in plain sight.

Reno finally looked up, also faking his surprise at seeing AVALANCHE there. "Woah."

No one spoke for a little bit until one of the more burly guys in the back pushed his way forward. "What the hell are you doing in here?"

"Don't suppose you have a light on ya, do ya?" Reno said, stumbling over his words a little and blinking at the man as if he was having trouble seeing. Seeing his gambit, Cloud began to imitate him and adopted a more dazed look. At least he hoped it was dazed and not 'please punch me in the face.'

"Dunno. Though they could light some stuff up with those grenades there," Cloud said, nudging his friend in the side. Reno laughed, slapping the blonde on the back of the head.

"Good one Jeff! Punny as always!"

Meanwhile, the man-and the rest of the squad-was staring at them in slight disbelief. "Are you two drunk?"

The red-head blinked up at him a little bit before walking slowly over to the man and slinging his arm around his shoulders. "That's probably a possibility. Or are humans born with two heads?"

"Get off of me!" The man growled, shoving Reno away. He stumbled back into Cloud, who, not expecting the weight, tumbled to the ground with him.

"Ow," the red-head said, a little late. There was a commotion in the back of the squad, which Cloud scanned quickly with his eyes. Five members, all armed.

"What's going on?" A woman's voice spoke with authority and the other AVALANCHE members cleared the way for what had to be their leader. She was shorter then a couple of the other guys, but she had unmistakable air of authority about her.

The man Reno had been harassing earlier answered. "Just a couple of drunk kids. They wandered in here."

The leader looked down at them in disdain as Reno waved cheerily up at her. "You sure about that?"

_Oh crap. I really hope she doesn't see through our act._ Cloud continued to lie on the ground, weakly trying to push his friend off of him.

"They don't seem smart enough to be anything else."

"Hey fuck you, man! Didn't ask for no opinion from a scrub like you!" Reno pointed somewhere in the man's general direction as he finally pulled himself up, swaying. Cloud however, was still on the ground.

"Um, Lee? Little help here?" he asked, but the red-head just looked down at him.

"Nah, you're fine." the Turk returned his gaze to the leader, who was glaring at him, a hand on her gun.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" She demanded. "Answer me or I'll shoot."

"Name's Lee. That's Jeff. He doesn't like talking to strangers," Reno said, slurring his words."Neither do I which is why we headed t' the abandoned park only to find you guys here. It's like a party."

While Reno was gesturing wildly, Cloud pulled himself up, brushing the dirt off of his shirt. He was going to need about five showers to get all this stuff out.

The leader didn't answer, merely swung her fist out and socked Reno straight in the stomach. He fell over on the ground, groaning, and Cloud 'sobered up' instantly to run over to him.

"R-Lee! Dude, are you okay?" He knelt down, his own injuries suddenly stinging to remind him. As he looked down at his partner, Reno's eyes suddenly widened and it was only due to that warning that Cloud managed to flinch away from the blow on his back. The cadet still went down like a sack of rocks, but at least he wasn't unconscious.

Cloud just lay there, hoping they would just leave them alone now, or at least let their guard down. That hope was quickly crushed when he felt the rest of the squad gather around the two and the leader issuing orders to search them.

"Wait for the right moment," Reno whispered so softly that the cadet had a hard time believing he said anything. Instead he just closed his eyes, feeling hands searching his sleeves and pockets, quickly seizing the EMR and his ID.

His Shinra ID.

_Oh shit._

"This one's a Turk!" A guy yelled and Cloud didn't even have a chance to react before Reno flew up and launched himself at one of them. The man from earlier brought up his rifle to shoot, but as Cloud flipped himself over, wincing, he saw it jam on something and then explode, blowing everyone backwards.

_I suppose that is the right moment._ He was already on the ground so he didn't get blown away, but his ears were still ringing. Cloud scrambled up, his fists at the ready, knowing he was sorely outmatched. The smoke was already clearing-it HAD only been a small blast, and he saw the guy Reno had pounced on earlier lying on the ground. He knew if he dawdled, he died, and the only reason they weren't shooting was because everyone was grouped so close together. A large shadow loomed out of nowhere, and Cloud narrowly dodged a blow as the guy estimated for a person much taller than he was.

The cadet desperately punched the man in the throat and while he was gasping for air, seized the sword on the his belt. It was bigger than what he was used to, but with so much adrenaline, Cloud felt like he could lift a building.

A flying kick came out of nowhere and said guy landed flat on his stomach, not getting up again.

"Really Reno? I was gonna take him out!" He growled at the Turk who had decided to conveniently reappear.

"Yeah, in like five years. Come on, you suck at hand-to-hand, Cloud. Why don't you stick with that one over there who has a sword?" He casually pointed at a woman who had drawn a wicked-looking curved sword and advancing on them.

Both of them ducked for cover as a spray of bullets went over them, and Reno pulled out a hidden gun to fire back.

"You people are ALL INSANE!" Cloud yelled and lifted the sword to block the woman's mad blow, since she was obviously not waiting. Reno was off holding the rest of them back from Cloud's fight, dodging around obstacles and even standing on one squad member's head.

The woman was good, but she was slow and light compared to Zack and despite one misstep that resulted in a cut on his cheek, he disarmed her pretty easily and slammed the flat of the sword on her head, causing her to crumple.

Turning back, he barely managed to save Reno from a stray bullet to the back by slicing the man's gun out of his hand.

"Thanks partner, appreciate it," he said as they fell in next to each other. The other members had started getting up- _wait, that's more than five!-_ looking worse for wear. Even with a Turk on his side and an actual sword, Cloud wasn't sure they were going to get out of this fight unscathed, especially with his left arm burning like hell. He resolved to use Odin but only as an absolute last resort.

The leader was standing there, smirking, obviously thinking she had them surrounded. Which she kind of did.

"What is it now, Lee?" She asked, pointing her handgun at the Turk in question.

Reno kicked at the ground, flipping up his EMR into his hand and extending it in one smooth flick. How it got there in the first place Cloud didn't know, but he felt a bit better with the weapon being back in familiar hands.

He pointed the baton at her in return, electricity crackling down the shaft. "The name is Reno, of the Turks. Got it memorized?"

The air hummed with tension, only breaking when Cloud suddenly flipped out the knife his friend had given him earlier. "Don't forget about me either."

"That's a lot of talk just coming from one Turk," the leader began, but she never got to finish her statement as Reno backed up, his eyes wide.

"Oh shit, I am in so much trouble…"

"You can say that again," one of the AVALANCHE guys grunted, but the red-head rolled his eyes at him.

"Not from you, from them." Cloud followed Reno's finger which was pointing directly at….Rude and Cissnei, both standing there with what could only be interpreted as angry expressions on their faces.

* * *

Angeal was almost starting to regret the decision of letting Yuffie come along with him. Not only did she never stop talking, but in the past few hours they were traveling, she attempted to steal his materia no less than four times.

Despite that, he enjoyed having a companion again, having spent the last week completely alone with his own thoughts. And according to Sephiroth and Zack, his thoughts were terrible companions to have.

Yuffie had dragged out a giant shuriken she proclaimed as her weapon, though it made her tip over more times than not. He in turn, showed her the Buster Sword, though mentioned it was too important for him to use.

"Why would a sword be too important to use?" she asked, and Angeal sighed. He supposed a little kid wouldn't get it.

"It represents something more important than just a blade. It represents honor, and my pride as a soldier," he said in a soft voice, his thoughts far away.

"So you ARE a soldier!" Yuffie said loudly, not letting him become somber.

"More like a wanderer, I suppose." He smiled sadly, recalling Genesis' constant rants on LOVELESS.  _The three of us do seem to be shaping up to be that way. I suppose you were right all along._

Yuffie, quickly getting bored of the conversation, bounded on.

They travelled like this for quite some time. He had questioned Yuffie about the local countryside, and if any mysterious winged men had shown up, and surprisingly, she knew what he was talking about. Calling them nasty angel men, she began to lead Angeal to where they were last spotted, promised treasure in return.

He continued to question why such a young girl was out here all alone, even if she was very skilled for her age. Angeal sometimes even had trouble keeping full track of her slipping in and out of places. When she grew up to be a full ninja, he could tell she'd be very skilled.

But for now, talking loudly and carrying around the giant shuriken, Yuffie got tired easily, so by the time they had caught up to where Genesis was supposed to be, he was carrying her on his back.

"Wait, what is that?" She asked suddenly, pointing from her perch on Angeal's shoulders.

"Do you see something?" He asked her, trusting the girl's sharp vision.

"It's a lot of people clustered together! Like a camp from the war!" she said, whispering loudly. He let Yuffie down suddenly, drawing out his own sword.

"That can't be good." If she thought it was startling, it was obviously out of place. Telling her to stay down and out of trouble, Angeal crept silently along the path until he reached the cliff-top. Looking down he saw groups of figures scattered everywhere, preparing for battle. Smoke was rising from small patches of the forests, and there were monsters running about as if they owned the place. Yuffie was right; it was a war camp, and from how far it spread, he could tell it was a big one.

A few black feathers dusted by his boot.  _Genesis, what are you planning?_

"There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the goddess…" Angeal said softly, his voice drifting on the wind.

"What're you saying?" Yuffie asked, kneeling herself over the cliff to peer at the camps.

"Just a greeting to the friend I'm searching for."

* * *

_I have mentioned before that the Tale of Three Brothers is similar to LOVELESS in many aspects. In fact, I do believe it to be the inspiration for the poem and later on, the play, though in translation, some details were changed._

_It follows the story of three people who were close enough to be brothers: the Prisoner, the Wanderer, and the Hero. They all searched for the Gift of the Goddess to save themselves from a poison that turned them slowly into monsters, as well as for the world that suffered from the same calamity._

_But they all were separated and eventually lost to each other. Again, I suffer from lack of information, but I can see from the passage under the Faithless Soldier, that the Wanderer gained his title from roaming the lands, seeking to find his friends and unite them in their task again, while fighting the monster within._

_But those passages at the back of the book….they carry too many similarities. I can be sure now that the Untitled Characters, which I have dubbed them, have roles in LOVELESS-or maybe, the other way around. Could they be real people? Perhaps real people in the future? Could LOVELESS really come true?_

_-from the files of Uther Strife_

_Loveless Act II_


	19. Wings of an Angel

A very strange pair set off across the red dunes and hills of the western continent. From the distance, one could only see an occasional flash of red and gold if they bothered to look, accompanied by a bouncing moogle carrying a cat. Their movement was silent but for the occasional shout from the doll and the crack of a handgun as several curious monsters floated too close for comfort and quickly fell dead. The mysterious duo never once paused in their journey, and curious people spoke of it as they passed by, none ever figuring out the truth behind the purpose of the travelers. As it was, they liked the anonymity as the pair headed across dust-filled plains for Cosmo Canyon.

* * *

With the arrival of Cissnei and Rude, it didn't take much longer to clean up the mess of AVALANCHE members that had the misfortune of attacking them. Cloud was sort of glad for that, since he didn't know how much more his left arm could take, as it was already stinging and burning horribly, and there were still around five of them left.

_We probably could've taken them,_ the rebellious angry voice in his head said, but Cloud shoved it back down. He did not need to be in more trouble.

The troopers the two Turks had brought along with them secured the terrorists while Cissnei grabbed both of their arms and dragged them out of the park. "What the hell do you two think you were doing?!"

Reno, of course, was defiant. "Excuse you, I was just tryin' to chill out an' have some fun! Not my fault some assholes from AVALANCHE decided to crash the party!"

Cissnei twisted his arm a bit more and the red-head yelped, trying to get away. "Do you realize Tseng's and Rude's reactions when they heard you were missing? Did you even think about what would happen if you just 'disappeared' with Cloud and took on an entire squad of AVALANCHE by yourself?"

"We could've-"

"YOU COULD'VE DIED. BOTH OF YOU!" Cissnei yelled, her grip tightening on Cloud's arm as well. He wasn't going anywhere-Turks when they were angry and yelling were scary enough.

"I…." Reno's face twisted in several different ways at once, like he was trying to decide what to say. "I was helping a friend."

Cissnei let go of him, running a hand through her bronze hair. "Reno, when Tseng says house arrest, he MEANS house arrest. Just because you're bored or because you're a Turk does not mean you can just do whatever. Hojo did something to you, or did you not remember that little detail? We are trying to protect you two, and we cannot do that if you're screwing around in the slums!"

Cloud was a little surprised by her outburst, expecting mostly yelling about breaking company rules and not doing what they were told but…Cissnei was worried about him? Well, worried for Reno, but the Turks were a weird bunch. He didn't get their motivations at all.

Even more surprising is what Reno said afterwards.

"I'm sorry, okay? I was expectin' some monster killin', not AVALANCHE. Just tryin' to help Ellie out.." he muttered, staring at the ground.

"You mean the woman who came after us, begging us to go to the playground, because she just heard the terrorists were hiding out there and you two had gone in all alone?" Cissnei said, annoyed, folding her arms. Reno looked up in shock.

"Don't give me that look. I'm glad you two are okay, but you are still in SO MUCH TROUBLE." The bronze-haired Turk finally turned her attention to the cadet she had in her other hand.

"And you, I'm not even gonna tell you how much Zack freaked out. It was all I could do to keep him in the Shinra building."

Cloud's stomach dropped about fifty feet when she said that, finally letting go of his arm. He really fucked up big time, didn't he? He glanced over at the Turk, and they both shared a sympathetic wince. The next few hours weren't going to be pleasant for either of them.

* * *

Their escapade was not for nothing. Reno informed Rude and Cissnei about the AVALANCHE members mentioning Genesis, and a quick firefight in the hideout later, the Turks had the latest intel on where Genesis was hiding.

Rude had not let either of them out of his sight since they regrouped and Cloud wasn't sure whether he should feel relieved or scared. Reno's partner kind of terrified him occasionally. The red-head, however, just looked incredibly annoyed as they were escorted back to the HQ.

"It says here that they last heard of a winged man flying around in Wutai," Cissnei said, looking at the file while they were riding the elevator up. Cloud poked at the bandage-he was really racking them up-on his face from where the woman cut him.

"Wutai? The hell is that guy doin' there?" Reno asked, but the cadet chose to remain silent. He didn't know how much either of these Turks knew, even if he was fairly sure they both were in on thier grand conspiracy.

"That's a good question, and I'm going to be certain to ask Sephiroth this, after I report to Shinra," She said absent-mindedly, tapping a finger on her chin. Cloud desperately wanted to ask for news about Jenova, or maybe even Vincent, but this was not the place. He'd just have to pester Zack for another secret meeting later.

The elevator stopped on the SOLDIER floor and Cloud started getting out. Reno attempted to follow, but a gloved hand from Rude held him back. "You aren't getting out of this one," the large man said humorlessly.

Before the doors hissed closed, Cissnei called out one last thing. "Tseng wants to see you after you clear things up with Zack and the doctors!"

"Wait what?" He asked, but the bronze-haired Turk was already gone, along with his friend.  _Just freaking lovely. Not only am I in serious trouble with Zack, but the leader of the Turks wants to see me as well. Can this day get any better?_

With Cissnei's mention of doctors, he was sure it definitely would, and there was not an ounce of sarcasm in that statement at all.

But for now, he had to go find Zack, and apologize. For everything. He really needed a friend right now. Cloud wandered the hallways a bit, totally out of place with all the SOLDIERs who looked curiously at him. He briefly wondered why no one stopped him, but then remembered everyone somehow knew him because he was sponsored by Zack. Thanking his lucky stars, he kept on searching.

The cadet was almost ready to give up when he heard a voice behind him. "Hey, Cloud!"

Turning, confused, he saw a SOLDIER Second run over to him.  _How did he know my name?_

Not waiting for the blonde to answer, the Second class continued to speak. "Name's Kunsel. A friend of Zack's. You're Cloud, right? Nice to finally meet you."

Oh. So that's how he knew. Cloud slowly nodded, taking the SOLDIER's offered hand, wincing when it was shook a little harder than necessary. So this was a friend of Zack's? He seemed to have a never-ending supply.

"You look a bit lost, can I help you with anything?" Kunsel asked. Well, at least he was friendly.

"Yeah, I uh…Well, I need to talk to Zack, but I can't find him. Anywhere," He said, waving his hand at the hallway.

"Ah, no problem. I just passed by. He's in one of the inner briefing rooms; it'd be hard for you to find him there." Kunsel beckoned to him. Cloud quickly fell in behind, feeling rather awkward and hoping it was a short walk. He needn't have bothered, since the taller man turned around to talk to him anyway.

"Sorry if I freaked you out by using your name. Zack talks about you all the time. He won't shut up." Kunsel laughed and turned back around. "Nothing bad though. Lotsa people are jealous."

Cloud didn't really know what to say to that. He knew people probably would be, but Zack talking about him? What did he have to talk about?

He didn't have time to ask the other SOLDIER before he stopped off at an official looking door. "Zack's through here, kid. Nice meeting you again!" He gave a friendly salute and then disappeared down the other end of the hallway, leaving Cloud standing there, drowning in anticipation. His friend was on the other side of that door. His one true friend in Shinra, who was angry and disappointed in him….

Cloud swallowed thickly and walked towards the door, letting the hiss announce his arrival. Zack was indeed in there, peering at a file closely, only looking up to see who it was. His annoyed face quickly widened with surprise when he saw Cloud standing there, almost rushing over to him.

He didn't move, not knowing what to say. They hadn't exactly left on a good note, and now with this whole debacle in the slums…

"Oh Goddess, Cloud, I'm so glad you're okay!" Zack suddenly said, enfolding him in a warm embrace, and in that instant Cloud knew everything had been forgiven. Blinking back tears he didn't know were there, he hesitantly reached his arms around his friend too. How could he have done this to him? Zack seemed to be far more worried than the cadet was expecting, thinking it was just him messing around in the slums.

He recalled everything his friend had been through the past week; with Angeal leaving, Sephiroth locking himself up in his office, and the whole dangerous game involving Hojo and Jenova, and with him suddenly disappearing, Zack had probably thought the worst.

"It's okay, Zack, I'm fine. I'm really sorry, okay?" Cloud said, muffled by his shirt. He couldn't express all he felt with those words, but he hoped his friend would be able to get it.

"I know Cloud, I just…I've been stupid too. So I can't really say anything. I'm sorry too." He was talking more into Cloud's hair than anything else, but for once he didn't mind. It was nice to know he was there at all, solid and real.

"Everything's so fucked up. It's all fucked up, I'm so sorry I couldn't stop it…" Zack muttered, and Cloud almost jerked back when he felt something wet on the top of his head.  _Dear Goddess, is he…?_

"Zack, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Cloud pulled back, and Zack just sort of stumbled backwards, sitting on one of the chairs with an arm over his eyes.

"Zack?" Seeing his friend like this was terrible; he didn't know what to do. Zack was the strong one, not him. "Zack, please tell me what's going on!"

"No it's-it's not you, I'm just glad you're okay. I…I'm sorry. I know you're trying your best, I just got frustrated you wouldn't tell me anything. Like you didn't trust me. Like none of you trusted me," Zack said, his voice cracking in the middle.

That's why he'd been so upset. Cloud's stomach twisted up again and he felt slightly nauseous, knowing he caused his friend to feel this betrayed. It wasn't his intention at all!

"I'm sorry, it's not that! I-"

Zack looked up at him, his eyes clear, but he could see the emotion there.

"I didn't want to rely on anyone else to be strong. I was angry because I just want to be the best but I can't do that unless someone else is around. I can't be strong without someone else there and it's frustrating."

Zack's own tears were bringing some to his eyes, but unlike his SOLDIER friend, he was terrible at hiding them. "I'll tell you the truth, I'm terrified of Hojo, and of failing to become a SOLDIER and of being weak, and everything I do, I'm not getting better fast enough. I don't see any improvement, and when I do go after the people who beat me up, I lose control! What will happen next time? Will I kill someone and turn into a monster like Gene-"

Cloud suddenly cut himself short, realizing what he was about to say, and half of the stuff he didn't even mean to. It had just all spilled out, and Zack was staring at him in horror. He laughed hollowly and slowly slid down the wall until he was sitting as well.  _I am turning into a monster. That's what all this weird shit is._

"I can hear Chaos and I can hear Jenova, and Hojo wants me for something, and I can do unexplainable things with materia that's too powerful for my body to handle….I am a monster, aren't I?" All the stresses of the day collapsed in on him at once and he started crying for real, for the first time since he got kicked out of the SOLDIER program.

Zack came rushing over and he felt a warm arm embrace him, but he couldn't stop crying. He didn't want to, and only Zack was around to see him cry. He didn't know how long it lasted, only that his friend was there the whole time, not saying a word, just gently holding him together as he fell apart on the floor.

"I'm so sorry. I'm-so sorry, you were…upset and I made it about me again…" he managed to choke out between tears.

"No, no, it's okay, I was mostly worried about you…" Zack said, gently ruffling his hair, trying to smile but unable to make it reach his eyes. "You don't talk enough about your problems. That's what I'm upset about."

Normally he would shy away from touches like that, but it was comforting. It was Zack. "I don't know what's going on…." he whispered, a few more tears dripping down his face. "And all I can do is cry about it like a little-"

He couldn't finish that sentence because Zack's hand covered his mouth. Looking up at his friend, he noticed the first class was completely serious for once. "No. Don't finish that sentence."

Cloud tried to pull back, but the first class was having none of it. "You aren't going to say more bad things about yourself. It's not cool. And don't you dare call yourself a monster either. If I hear one more person call themselves that when they aren't, then I'm seriously going to punch them."

"Then what am I turning into?" Cloud asked, his voice raw as his throat.

"Maybe an angel?"

Cloud just stared at him for that statement, but Zack's make-blue eyes were steady and strong.

"When Angeal asked me what his wings made him, that's what I told him. Angel's wings." Zack crouched down in front of the cadet, gently reaching out to again pat his friend on the head, only this time, his hand stayed there.

"Wings symbolize freedom for those who have none. I want those wings, so much. Wouldn't that be great? To be free like that? You're not turning into a monster. Someone like you could never be a monster. People only make themselves into one when they think they are." Zack's words almost brought another batch of tears to his eyes. Something about the way he said it, the way Zack's eyes looked so misty, as if he dreamed of freedom from this life too. Could it be that his friend was right? Could he really be turning into something like an angel?

"I'm sorry-"

"What did I say about apologizing?!"

Cloud froze at Zack's sudden exclamation. "Um?"

"No more. Just, no more of that. We keep having these types of conversations because you don't trust yourself enough. No more sorries. You're banned from that word." Zack sounded serious about it too, so Cloud just nodded, trying to not upset him further.

"Besides, I know you're sorry, beating yourself up isn't going to get you anywhere, Cloud. You have to prove to yourself you aren't the monster and that you're stronger than this. Please?"

He nodded silently, and tried to smiled, wiping away the tracks of his tears. "Just don't tell anyone ever about this."

Zack's hand slipped down to briefly cover Cloud's eyes. "It's okay to cry, you know. It's not weak."

Neither of them said anything for awhile, but eventually Cloud calmed down enough that he could stand up and walk out without anyone suspecting anything different.

"The doctor called you back in…" Zack said, somewhat sadly. "So I suppose you should get going."

"Yeah I…" Cloud almost said sorry again, but remembered what his friend told him. "Our conversations keep ending up about that shit."

"Well you'll just have to get stronger, spiky, cause the more you go through, the less you'll be having heart-to-hearts with your superior officers!" Zack crowed, like none of that had happened. Cloud was fine with that. He was embarrassed enough.

"Man, just be glad that you weren't on an official mission though, otherwise I'd have to probably report you and you'd get extra duty again, so seriously Cloud, don't just go messing around, got it?" The SOLDIER pointed a finger at him, and the cadet sighed.

"Yeah."

"Cloud…."

He was about to leave the room, but hearing that mist of sadness back in the first class's voice, he just had to turn around.

"Do you trust me?"

This time, Cloud smiled reassuringly as the door hissed closed. "Always, Zack."

* * *

He was seriously nervous again, walking into the infirmary without anyone there to support him. Hoping against all hope that Hojo wasn't anywhere near, Cloud looked around for the doctor from a few days earlier.

Zack hadn't told him why they wanted to see him, just that he was to report to the infirmary as soon as possible. Which certainly didn't bode well for his condition.  _I haven't blown anything up recently, or been seriously injured…is this about the whole slums thing? Did I get blood poisoning or something?_

"Hm. I see you're finally here."

His months of military training were the only thing that kept him from screaming out loud, though he did jump and stumble into an idle stand. Cloud whipped around, praying to the Goddess he did not just hear Hojo's voice behind him, but his day just kept getting shittier.

The bespectacled man stared back at him, at about even height, with an almost bored expression on his face.

"I…what?" Were the only two words that could escape Cloud's mouth, but the scientist paid no heed to them.

"I have been informed of your exploits with materia, and the trouble it would cause you if it were to continue," Hojo said in flat tones. What had Reno called him? Professor Creep-Show?  _Well, it certainly fits._

Hojo took a few steps towards him and Cloud instinctively backed away, again knocking into the stand. "What do you want?"

The cadet didn't like the smile that curved over the scientist's lips, but there wasn't much he could do.

"I need a way to monitor your levels of magic, to ensure…your safety, and others." In the span of a few seconds, Hojo moved faster than Cloud could've anticipated, grabbing his right wrist and fixing something on it.

He yelped, grabbing his arm away as soon as it was let go, examining the cold metal band that was now fixed to his wrist. The cadet tugged at it slightly, but it was perfectly secure with no visible seams.

"What the hell? Don't you need permission to-"

"You signed a contract, and it is imperative for the continued advancement of your skills and the safety of your colleagues to keep that on you."  _Not that you have a choice,_ Hojo seemed to add on silently.

Cloud stared dumbly at the little metal band, shaped almost like a watch, with a little screen where the clock face would be. There was a digital readout and a little blue bar that was almost full. Hojo's finger suddenly invaded his privacy, tapping the little screen. "This will monitor your magic levels and report if you are doing anything…odd."

It was weird to see him like this, almost being informative and helpful instead of creepy, and then Cloud remembered he attached a monitoring device without consent. He pulled his arm away from the madman, quickly attempting to shove his sleeve over the band. "I don't get to take this off, do I?"

"The band is reinforced metal and no removable joints. A SOLDIER would be hard-pressed to remove it, so I highly doubt you can, boy!" And back to normal.

"Can I go now?" Cloud asked quickly, wanting to get as far away from this man as possible. Hojo, off in his own world, had started ignoring him again as he started picking up supplies and putting them away. Not wanting to linger where the man could stick a needle in him, Cloud edged around to the entrance and took off.

He was having a really, REALLY terrible day.

* * *

To say Tseng was mad at him was an understatement. The Turk leader was of course, a master at hiding his emotions, but he let Reno know how utterly furious he was about running off like that. At least Cissnei had been nicer about it and actually showed she was worried, but Tseng just kept on rantiing about how he was a disgrace to the Turks and the company and put the lives of his comrades, including Cloud, at risk.

Reno of course, had a few remarks to say back, but Tseng just declared he didn't want to see him anymore and banned him from even leaving the Shinra building.

"Glad to see you care about me, you fuckin' jerk," He muttered as he tossed a ball up into the air and caught it again. Tseng really needn't have bothered; after running away from him, Rude had not let his partner out of his sight, not even once. He had never seen the bigger man so worried about something, and it almost made Reno feel bad about giving the guy the slip. Almost.

But it was boring. On house arrest and off duty, there was nothing to do, so Reno rolled over, almost contemplating calling up Cloud to see how he was, remembering too late that he'd never actually gotten the blonde's number.

_Just fuckin' perfect…_ And Rude probably wasn't going to even let him out of their apartment for the rest of the day. This was so boring. Then again, the deal with AVALANCHE was his fault, but they really were going to punish him even if he found out where Genesis was for them… _dammit, I'm soundin' like a whiny teen. I need a better hobby._

Reno's left eye started itching like crazy out of nowhere. Pushing his goggles up a bit further, he tried to rub the feeling away, but it just continued, and eventually started getting worse. He blinked, feeling a few tears drop from his affected eye. Did he get an eyelash stuck in there or something? It definitely wouldn't be the first time.

Holding his watering eye with one hand, Reno stood up and made his way to the bathroom, waving off Rude as he looked up from his book. "I'm just goin' to the bathroom, chill out, yo!"

As soon as he reached it and closed the door, a sudden shooting pain lanced through his eye, causing him to slip and grab onto the counter. What on earth…?

The red-head scrubbed at his eye again, trying to get the foreign object out, but gave up and just stared at himself in the mirror. What he saw, however, was enough to give the young Turk a heart attack. Reno made an incomprehensible noise and fell over on the linoleum, resulting in a loud crashing sound that brought his partner running.

"Reno, are you okay?" Rude kneeled down next to the red-head, who was clutching at his left eye like it was in pain.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine, just…not feeling good. I think I'm gonna go lie down," Reno mumbled, standing up and pushing away Rude's help. He managed to stumble his way into his room, where he collapsed on his bed, shivering. The headache behind his skull grew to pounding and he closed his eyes, dearly hoping that what he saw in the mirror was just a delusion of his tired mind.

* * *

They had almost made it all the way to Cosmo Canyon when Vincent heard the voice in his mind. It was obvious that Cait Sith had not, for he kept bouncing as the former Turk froze suddenly, listening for the wind.

_Vin….here…..ome…me…._

"Who is that?" He asked out loud, completely ignoring his surroundings. Nothing answered, not even the monsters that stirred in the depth of his soul. It wasn't Chaos then. The voice didn't sound like his either. It was more…female.

_Vin..ent…..come…me….._

It was calling him. The voice washed over him like a warm memory, a reminder of his distant past, long before he slept in his coffin.

"Somethin' the matter with ye?" Cait Sith asked suddenly, jumping up in front of him. Vincent sighed, annoyed. Truth be told, he was surprised by the capabilities of this automaton; not only could it keep up with him, it was fully equipped for battle and helpful in a fight.

That did not mean he liked it-him-and his puppeteer.

"I heard something. A voice," he rasped, not having talked for that past few days. "It's calling to me, as if in a dream."

"I hear not'in at all, Mr, Valentine! Sure ye aren't mistakin' it for somet'in?" the cat drawled, settling down on his moogle.

Vincent did not answer, but merely stared to the east where the voice came from. He had a mission to accomplish in Cosmo Canyon, where the last Cetra had pointed him, yet this felt important. He felt drawn to the voice, as though it would answer the questions he was so desperately asking.

"I need to go." Vincent took off suddenly, with a flap of his cape, Cait Sith left behind, protesting. The doll quickly sped up his pace to catch up, yelling all the while to 'slow a wee bit down!' Vincent was having none of it. The voice was calling him.

* * *

It was late at night when he happened upon the cave behind the waterfall. How many days passed, he did not know, for Vincent did not keep track of time like normal humans, nor did he sleep. The doll of course, did not mind either, as he was not made of flesh and blood.

"Here," he said softly, pointing a clawed finger at the waterfall. "I hear the voice from inside there."

Cait SIth seemed to be thoughtful, but he was still vocal as ever. "Ye sure about that, this seems a bit fishy t' me!"

Vincent once again, said nothing, and merely dropped down the cliff. He supposed he could transform into Chaos and make use of the beast's wings, but the Turk wanted to meet whoever was calling him in his true form. The doll, much to his displeasure kept following, but that detail became inconsequential soon enough.

_Vincent…come to me…._

The voice rang loud and clear, and his breath sucked in as he realized just who it might be.  _It-it can't be…she was…._

Vincent burst into the small cave, empty except for patches of crystal along the ground, and a shining, blue obelisk at the other side of the room. It was eye-catching, certainly, but that was not the reason Vincent was drawn to the gigantic crystal rising from the rock. He crept closer, silently, for inside the stone, lay Lucrecia Crescent.

He heard Cait Sith exclaim something, but Vincent could no longer hear anything, do anything, except walk towards the blue light, raising his normal hand to touch the gently glowing prison. Her eyes were closed and hands folded over her chest as if she were sleeping, and she did not look a day older than when they had first met.

_Time has abandoned us both, Lucrecia…but I am here now…_

Though it had been a long time, he felt tears spring to his eyes. Vincent was unsure he still had the capability to cry, as the monster he was.

"Were you the one calling me?" He asked softly, whispering to her through the crystal, and slowly, Lucrecia's eyes opened.

_Vincent…you came!_

_"_ Yes…I am here now…" he said, his voice thick with emotion. He felt 27 again, being a simple Turk and enjoying the sunshine.

_I am happy you came…I sensed you here from the Lifestream and knew you were troubled. I am glad you're here…_

"Lucrecia, what happened to you? I woke up, and the mansion was empty and I was a monster. What happened to you and that…that man?" He couldn't bear to say Hojo's name out loud. Lucrecia stayed frozen in her white dress, her light brown hair cascading like a frozen waterfall in the crystal's light. It was a twisted sight, to see both of them like this.

_I…don't remember. I don't remember much after I realized I was just a tool for him. He wanted our-my child, nothing more. I was never even able to hold him before he was taken away. And you…I found you bleeding on the floor and there was nothing I could do to stop him._

"Why are you apologizing to me?" He asked, "This was all my fault! I had seen what Hojo was attempting to do and how it would harm you and yet….I sat by as he took everything away."

_I never blamed you, Vincent. I was…upset when you found out about your father. But I think we both made mistakes. And in the end, there was no one to blame._

_"_ No. Only me, and that monster!" His voice rose with rage again and the creatures inside of him stirred, as they always did when he was angry. However, Lucrecia's voice washed over him again like a chorus of bells, calming him.

_Vincent, do not call yourself the monster. I merged you with Chaos to save your life. Hojo had used your body and twisted it for experiments of his own, and you were almost dead from the transfigurations. I put Chaos inside of you to help you. He saved your life._

"I…!" Of all the things he pictured Lucrecia saying, that was not it. She had put this thing inside of him, and to save him from dying? "Who…what is he?"

_I wish I knew, for that was what I was studying. Reams and stories and pages of informations about the Ancients, and only once did the mention of Chaos come up. He is the herald to the greatest WEAPON of them all, Omega. You are part of the Planet now, Vincent. And for that I am sorry. You deserved nothing more than to be alive._

Chaos…a WEAPON of the Planet…and this Omega as well. So he had been connected to the Cetra, and that was why Aerith knew he was there! Vincent saw the puzzle pieces fall into place, except for one.

Vincent could sense Lucrecia fading, but he still had so much more he wanted to ask her.  _"_ Have you heard of a boy named Cloud Strife?"

_No._

A pause.

_Please, tell me, I can't sense him anywhere in the Lifestream, is my son alive? Is Sephiroth…okay?_

"He is fine. I have met him, and he looks like you. He has not succumbed to Hojo's will yet, or anyone else's…"

_Good…I…so….lad…._

Lucrecia's voice faded away and her eyes closed. Vincent stayed there a few moments longer, the claws on his gauntlet scratching against the immovable crystal. He had gotten some of the answers he had wanted for himself, yet so many more questions remained. What exactly was Chaos' purpose, and more importantly, what was Hojo attempting to accomplish?

And Cloud Strife. The only other person to hear Chaos' voice, and yet he was not a Cetra like the girl in the church. Adding on Hojo's interest in the boy, Vincent was suspicious. He was not an ordinary human after all, but rather something…more. Something close and special to the Planet.

_Yes, that is what I felt before. The Planet living inside of him, protecting him…like a mother would._

Who was Cloud? Certainly not a monster.

Vincent turned to leave the cave but for some reason, his vision went blurry and the next thing he knew he was lying on the floor, his consciousness fading fast.

* * *

Cait Sith was not the first thing he wanted to see when he woke up. Had he not been aware of the cat, Vincent probably would've blown his head off but instead, he just pushed the doll out of the way.

"What happened?" Vincent asked, sitting up and fighting back a wave of dizziness. It wasn't like him to get sick like this.

"My guess is you passed out from bein' tired, Mr. Valentiine," Cait Sith said, sat down next to him. The cat, oddly enough, seemed more subdued than usual, perhaps because of the events inside the cave, but Vincent didn't really care.

He looked around, seeing he'd been relocated to the entrance of the cave and it was finally daylight, from what he could tell through the pounding waterfall. So he passed out, did he? Vincent brought his legs underneath him to stand up, only to become face to face with Cait Sith, who had climbed up on top of him and was staring him down with his closed eyes.

"I can't let ye overexert yerself, Mr. Valentine, otherwise we'll be at this all again," the doll said smugly, but Vincent just pushed him off. The cat fell over, protesting as the Turk stood himself up fully. Vincent took one step, but had to hold onto the wall as the world tilted dangerously.

"What…"

"Like I said, ye ran here for three days straight, Vincent. I'm surprised y' didnae pass out sooner." Cait Sith's tail bobbed back and forth.

"Three…days?" Had it really been that long? It was true he did not acknowledge the passage of time like he used to, but to push his body to those limits…It did not matter. He kept walking inside the cave, desperate to see what had happened to Lucrecia. The doll, again curiously did not say anything, merely watched him stumble to the blue crystal which was now empty.

"Lucrecia!" She was gone. She was completely gone and the cave seemed so lifeless and cold without her. All he could hear was the slow dripping of water as it fell from the ceiling and the swish of the robotic cat's tail. He curled his hand into a fist, knowing he again had lost everything.

"She really meant a lot to you." There was something about the dolls voice that caught Vincent's attention. It had changed, as if Cait Sith was no longer speaking but…In the middle of his grief, his red eyes turned and bore a hole into the doll.

"I see you figure me out, Mr. Valentine. It's true I'm not who I say I am, lad, but I have my reasons for tryin' to protect meself." Cait Sith sighed dramatically and flopped on the floor.

He didn't know what to think. Vincent always thought of the add-on party member as a nuisance, since he worked alone, but a change had come over the cat and he had shown real concern earlier.

"Is it because of Shinra?" He asked, growling at the doll. True, he was curious, but Cait Sith did not need to know that.

"Yer a smart one, Vincent Valentine! I'd tell ya the truth, but I'm not sure I can trust ya. I suspect ye feel the same about me?" The cat tilted his head to the side. Vincent merely huffed and drew his cape around himself. He wanted to go searching for Lucrecia, but standing there, in the middle of the cave, he knew that no matter how hard he looked, she would not appear to him again.

"I've been thinkin' lots while on this journey, an' I'm not so sure about my loyalties. I guess ye could say I'm loyal t' the Planet, but that's awful big talk for a wee little human like me," Cait Sith said sadly. Vincent was momentarily impressed by how expressive a robot could be. The next statement, however, took him by surprise.

"Why do you fight? When you know Shinra is against you and all of this happens if ye try to defy 'em? You have a deathwish or somethin'?"

Vincent stared at Cait Sith, not expecting such a serious question. Why did he fight? It was a question he did not know the answer to.

"I fight because I will no longer sleep in compliance to that madman's wishes. I am tired of being a monster and a puppet, though I deserve both titles. However, others do not, and it is my duty to prevent them from becoming so." Why he thought of Cloud when he said that, Vincent did not know.

"Even if your opponents are stronger then ya, an' you end up like poor Lucrecia there?" The Turk flinched when Cait Sith said her name, for hearing it uttered from someone else's mouth was a rare occurance.

He opened his mouth and there were so many things he wanted to say, but in the end, he merely shrugged. "I have to do something to save them."

"Saving them…" Cait Sith's tail twitched again, and the robot fell silent. Vincent stared at him curiously, for the thing seemed to freeze in place as if it had turned off, but something metal off to the side caught his eye.

His metal feet tapping slightly against the rock, he walked over and picked up the foreign metal object, a shape he knew and cherished well. It was a gun, but not just any gun. It was large enough to practically be a rifle, with silver engravings that ran down the side and a cross-shaped barrel. If he were not enhanced, it would've weighed a ton, but it fit into Vincent's hand like it was made for him. Wings extended from the handle and the chamber, reminding him of Chaos in a fashion.

"Death Penalty…" The former Turk ran his claws over the words etched on the side of the beautiful weapon. And beautiful it was, in form and in function, far surpassing that of his loyal Cerberus. Inside of him, he felt Chaos jump, reacting towards the gun.

**_My weapon, my loyal Sword…._** he seemed to say.

_So this is yours, then? Only appropriate for it to return to me._

"Reeve Tuesti." Vincent turned around, having forgotten about the cat. He cocked his head in confusion. Why was Cait Sith saying random names now?

"Y' wanted t' know who I was, Mr. Valentine, Reeve Tuesti is the man who made me," Cait Sith said, jumping up and down a little bit in pride. Now that he said it, the name did sound familiar. "I figured since I know somethin' about you, it's only fair y' should know somethin' 'bout me in return!"

He held the dolls gaze for a few moments longer before deciding there was some truth to his statement. It was obviously a big deal to share that, and Vincent could easily detect lies. He slowly inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"We'll see if it's nice to meet you or not," he said in the friendliest tone he could manage, and then, tucking his new weapon away, flourished his cape. "For now, I want to continue to Cosmo Canyon."

_And try not to dwell on my failure that rests here._

"And so we shall!" The eager cat danced and again, the strange duo set off under the sun.

* * *

The next few weeks were some of the busiest Cloud ever had. He had so much to do and train for that he barely had any time to find his bed, much less stay up reading his dad's book and worrying about what Genesis-who hadn't moved from Wutai-and Hojo were planning. In fact, since the wrist ornament incident, he hadn't heard a lick out of the crazy scientist.

Cloud had only seen Sephiroth once during this whole time, as the SOLDIER examinations were coming up and the General was the busiest of them all. Despite wanting to talk to him about the wierd events surrounding Nibelheim and the book of mysteries, the cadet was rather glad for this, still being intimidated by the older man's presence.

Zack was being sent on multiple missions, cutting his practice time with the blonde short-he suspected some of those visits were to Aerith too, who hadn't shown up in his dreams at all. What little time they did have together was spent drilling the basics into his skull and then moving onto freeform dueling, as most of the techniques the first class knew were for the enhanced.

"Good, keep going! I know you're tired but you need to keep your guard up under all circumstances!" This week, Zack had him fighting under certain status ailments, and this last one, Slow, was a doozy. His limbs felt like they were weighed down by lead, coupled with attempting to walk through a pool of syrup.

Zack's sword swung at him again, and he barely raised his own in time to deflect the blade to the floor. The blade vibrated out of Cloud's hand and both of them fell with a clatter to the floor. The first class, concerned as always, ran over to make sure his student was okay, stopping when the blonde kicked him in the shin.

"Clouuud, that was a low blow!" He complained, plopping down beside him.

"Always keep your guard up under all circumstances," Cloud retorted, not moving a muscle until the Slow effect wore off. "You're really brutal, you know that."

"Oh come on, you can take it," Zack said, laughing. "Seriously, huge improvement. I'm having a hard time believing you're the same little cadet from before!"

Cloud had to admit he was sort of right. From just these couple of weeks, not only had his swordsmanship skills massively improved, thanks to Zack, but he could start to see muscles in his arms and upper body developing nicely. Maybe he wouldn't be as bulky as Angeal, but it was a good feeling.

"I still need to get better," he said, letting out a breath. The effect seemed to be mostly gone, now that his limbs only felt slightly like lead.

"You're too hard on yourself, Cloud. You know the basic stances and guards like the back of your hand, and despite your lack of stamina, you're freakin' amazing at dueling back and forth! You really are starting to use your speed and size to your advantage," Zack said, suddenly grabbing and squeezing the rest of the air out of his friend.

The reason behind that was every Sunday, and sometimes in between, he had been training with Reno and Rude. Well, more like Reno, and Rude was an add on because he refused to let his partner go anywhere alone. In exchange for relieving the red-head's boredom, and teaching him some sword skills, he learned Turk hand-to-hand combat. Or, as Cloud liked to call it, face-to-floor, for he always seemed to end up there.

After about the eightieth time of picking himself off the floor, Cloud was getting really frustrated.

"Are you just fucking making fun of me?" He hissed, spitting out a little bit of blood onto the floor. Reno had the gall to look offended.

"No, you're just doing it all wrong!" He said, tapping the side of his head, while Rude watched passively from the sidelines.

"Please, enlighten me," the cadet snarled, in his best I'm-going-to-slit-your-throat voice.

"You see, the problem, about you SOLDIER types is that everythin' is about power, power, an' guess what? More power. Now, with giant thugs like Zack, that works just fine. But for people like you an' me, its a slight problem. 'Cause we're so small, right?" Reno said, gesturing to his whole body. "But! That's where you have it all wrong. Our advantage is not in strength, nor entirely in speed, though lemme tell you, it helps a ton."

"Your advantage lies in using your opponents strength against you." Cloud started, not expecting Rude to suddenly speak up like that. Reno, however, looked crestfallen.

"Hey, I was gonna say that, yo! What's the big idea?"

Rude ignored his partner's protests and walked over, seeming to size up the cadet. "In a fight, use your opponent's strength against him while simultaneously targeting weak points. That is how a fight is truly won."

Cloud's mouth hung slightly open. He knew that Rude had a reputation amongst most of the SOLDIERs for being a martial arts expert, and a cold unweilding person, so he wasn't expecting him to come over and start giving advice.

"I, um…what do you…mean?" He stammered, quickly making a fool of himself. Reno sighed and shook his head.

"Here, I'll demonstrate," the red-head said, and his partner nodded.

"Say he suddenly attacks me from behind. Watch what I do." Reno stood there casually and Rude stood behind him, suddenly reaching forward as if to lock the smaller Turk in a headlock. Quick as lightning, Reno grabbed Rude's arms, planted his feet and as he could best describe it, curled in on himself, somersaulting forward and landing Rude entirely on his back, with Reno ending up above him.

"From here, I have the advantage, an' I could break an ankle or go for the throat, or somethin'," Reno said, somehow standing after that impressive maneuver. "Thanks, man." The red-head reached down and offered a hand to Rude, who seemed unscathed, despite being thrown to the floor.

Meanwhile, Cloud was staring in awe, never having seen anyone do that before, much less someone of Reno's size.

"Holy-can I try that?" He asked, suddenly excited again. All the bruises from his other failed attempts seemed to vanish in one go.

It took him a few attempts-and several more bruises-before he was able to do it as well as Reno, but it was worth it when he saw the faces of the other cadets in combat class. As for sword-fighting, there were two extremes. Either there were people like Rin and Seth who kept coming up to him for advice-which he gladly gave out-or people like the former bullies who tried and failed to one-up him in training.

The rest of his days, when not in classes or private session were eaten up by doing various exercises, weight training, running exorbitant distances, and crawling through every terrain known to man. By the end of the day, he basically showered and crawled into his bed, checking to see if someone had stuck cactuar needles in there again because apparently bullies were still bullies when they were anonymous, and went to sleep.

Cloud was in a constant state of pain and tiredness and there were times when he wasn't aware of where he was or if he even had limbs anymore, but he trusted in Zack and Reno and everyone else that he would become stronger at the end, and like he had told the first class, he could feel it already. He was getting stronger, and he was not a failure.

He still shied away from materia, and ever since the incident, he hadn't even touched the stones, not even Odin, who seemed to be rather resentful of the neglect. Cloud couldn't risk it though; not with Hojo's band around his wrist and no control over his powers. He hadn't told anyone about that, figuring they would freak out, and he never really had time. It wasn't a concern of his as long as he stayed away from materia.

His weeks were so busy in fact, that on his first day off in awhile, he was startled by Seth shaking him awake and yelling something in his ear. "What? What is it?"

Seth hit him with the pillow, making Cloud fall out of his bed, his feet tangled in the sheets. "What the hell was that for?"

"Dude, didn't you know? The SOLDIER tests start tomorrow!"

* * *

_Wings carry a great amount of symbolism in these stories, as I have found out. I said before they were always spoken of as evil things, only fit for a monster, but at the same time, I feel they are also supposed to symbolize freedom. For the Crimson Devil, they symbolized his dreams of flying in the sky and being free of his terrible future and poverty. For the Faithless Soldier, his wings were a burden, but they helped him realize that he alone held the strength to build back the bonds he had once lost, to wander the world in search of redemption. For the Demon of Chaos and Sin, they were tools of destruction, to set him free of his obligation to serve those who created him._

_And for the Golden Weapon, they were simply symbols of hope and freedom. Only fitting for one borne of the dreams of the Lifestream. Beautiful wings to carry him to new heights as he fought to save those he loved._

_While they may chain them down and cause people to cause them monsters, I don't believe that's what the wings made them._

_I call them Angels._

_-from the files of Uther Strife_


	20. Honor

"What?" Cloud just stared dumbly at his friend for the next few seconds, his tired brain attempting to process what exactly he just said.

"SOLDIER exams! Or did you forget?" Seth said, dropping his pillow on top of Cloud's head. The blonde cadet kicked his feet out of his sheets and attempted to stand up, his head swimming.

"I think I did…"

"Jeez, the way you're always going off about being a SOLDIER, I'd think at least you would remember!" Seth huffed, and retreated to his side of the room, looking for something in his bed.

"What's the rush..aren't they tomorrow?" Cloud asked, confused.

"Yes, but you need to go register your equipment for the survival test now!" Seth said frantically, finding what he was looking for. Cloud blinked a few more times before he realized what the other cadet said and nearly jumped out of his skin."Shit!"

"Now he realizes," Seth muttered, but the blonde ignored him. He frantically searched around his bed, ignoring the pain in his muscles, trying to pick out the various supplies he had hidden in his sheets. After pulling out a couple knives that Cloud had managed to pry away from Reno, his Odin materia, and the broadsword he always kept with him, he turned to Seth, who was now poking around in his brother's bunk.

"Rin forgot something here and asked me to go get it. That's why I was here, and I'm glad I did, if you were still asleep," Seth explained, turning around. His eyes bugged out when he laid his eyes on the red summon stone in Cloud's hand.

"Holy-is that a summon?!" The bigger cadet nearly yelled, obviously not expecting him to have one. Cloud looked down at the unassuming red stone, Odin proud to have drawn such a reaction.

"Um. Yes?" He said quizzically.

"You have a summon? But-but-those are so rare! How on earth did a cadet like you get your hands on one?" Seth sputtered.

Cloud glared at him. "I do have skills you know. I got it from a monster."

"Oh, right. Sorry. But still. Only first class SOLDIERs have summons. And you have one! What is it?" Seth asked eagerly.

Cloud inwardly rolled his eyes. This was the main reason he never showed the stone to anyone. "Odin."

"Woah, even cooler! That's one of the more powerful ones! Course, not as powerful as Knights of the Round, but no one even knows if that one exists or not…" Seth's mind had wandered and Cloud quickly pocketed the materia.

"Come on." He grabbed onto his friend's collar and dragged him out of there.

* * *

The room where they were registering their equipment was crowded with all the cadets and various weapons, items, and materia, as well as a pervasive muttering between the different groups. Some stopped and glanced up at Cloud when he entered, still slightly disheveled, but most of them carried on their activities.

Luckily, Seth was there to lead him over to the desk, where a bored looking instructor was waiting. At least it was one of the ones that actually liked Cloud because he put effort into his training—and was a friend of Zack's. "Cloud, finally showing up. Worried for a second there you went missing or something."

The blonde yawned, not really phased by the statement. "I'm not sure I can feel my own feet anymore."

"Training does that to you, blondie," The instructor said flatly and handed him a paper. "Write down any equipment you are bringing in on your own, and we'll inspect it to make sure it's regulation."

Cloud didn't say anything, just snatching the paper away moodily. He knew it was difficult, he'd just like to not feel tired all the time. Seth had since wandered off to his brother so the blonde cadet went to an unoccupied corner to fill out the sheet, checking off the box marks, filling out his physical stats, everything they needed on the paperwork. He hesitated a bit on the materia part, as the cold band on his arm suddenly weighed him down-as did the red stone in his pocket-but this was the SOLDIER test. It bothered him, but he knew he'd have to use materia for it, despite the risks.

_Remember what Zack told you? You aren't a monster and you can learn to control yourself. He believes in you._ Cloud gripped the pencil hard and resolved himself. He was stronger than whatever force was messing with him, and Hojo too. He could become SOLDIER. He stood up, ignoring looks from his would-be bullies and turned in the sheet. The instructor, looking bored read quickly over the list until his eyes met the line about materia.

"What-what the hell, Strife? Are you serious?!" He sputtered, causing half the room to look up. Cloud rolled his eyes. Couldn't these people actually learn not to draw attention to him? He reached into his pocket and pulled out the red Odin summon stone and showed it to the instructor to prove he wasn't lying.

"Holy shit!' The instructor gasped among the mutterings from the other cadets. A ripple went through the whole crowd as they saw what exactly had shocked the man.

"That runt has a summon materia?"

"But I thought only first class SOLDIERs could get those!"

"Where'd he get his hands on that?"

Cloud dug his fingers into his palm, restraining himself from yelling at the idiots around him. "Can I take it along with me in the survival test?"

The instructor must've noticed his mood, for he managed to snap himself out of his daze. "I-uh. Yeah. You can take that summon along with you. As long its the only one and you know how to use it."

"Yeah I do," Cloud said, even if he wasn't sure. He'd never actually summoned Odin before, but he had a feeling he knew how to use summon stones. Despite his accidents, Cloud had a knack for materia. Feeling the stares from the rest of the room, the blonde cadet snatched the summon up again and nodded to the instructor, backing away from the table.

_Goddess above, there is no way I'm getting out of this alive,_ he complained as Rin and Seth came up to him.

"A summon stone, dude? How long have you been hiding that one?" The older sibling asked.

"Well, you know the whole Nibelheim thing I managed to come back from?" Cloud said, and the two nodded. "Me and Reno fought a big thing and this was a reward."

He tossed the stone up and down in his hand, nearly dropping it. Odin did not take well to that sort of treatment so he quickly shoved it back in his pocket. Seth whistled, impressed.

"Damn Cloud, you really are made of surprises!"

Cloud was about to respond, but all of a sudden a pair of arms wrapped around his neck. He reacted immediately, twisting in the grip and flailing a hand across his aggressor's face, thinking it was Fletcher. He wasn't expecting Reno of all people to stumble away slightly, clutching the side of his face, which was now bleeding from a stray cut.

"Dammit, Cloudy, you need to cut your nails!" The red-head said loudly, and Cloud's mood deflated.

"You dumbass! That's what you get for sneaking up on me like that," he responded matter-of-factly. "What are you even doing here?"

Rin and Seth, like normal, were paralyzed with fear since a Turk was in the vicinity. Cloud kept getting thrown off by their odd reaction, forgetting they didn't know Reno like he did and that the red-head was mostly harmless when it came to cadets. Then again, there was one instance where he flooded the bathroom…

"Do you remember? Tseng wanted you to come see him but ya never did, Cloudy." Reno tapped the side of his head. "You seem to be done here so move it."

The Turk didn't even seem to care that he got hit in the side of the face and Cloud was slightly impressed. "But our tests are tomorrow, I can't just leave."

Reno again wrapped his arm around the cadet's neck, starting to drag him out of the room. "Sorry, kid but you're gettin' kidnapped by the Turks."

Cloud protested the whole way out, Rin and Seth looking terrified for his safety as he tried to wave away their concerns. As soon as they were out of the room, Rude joined them-well of course!-and the blonde cadet finally managed to pull himself away.

"Do you enjoy doing that to me? They're gonna think I'm being dragged down to the labs and tortured!" He hissed at the extremely smug looking Turk. Reno just shrugged, rubbing at his left eye.

"That's their problem."

* * *

He did not speak to Reno the entire way up to Sephiroth's office. Why they were heading to the General's office when it was Tseng he was supposed to meet, Cloud didn't know, but he figured it probably had something to do with the fact they were all meeting up again. Whatever it was, the cadet just hoped it didn't take too long. He needed to prepare himself and maybe even ask Zack for some last minute advice.

The red-head knocked on the General's door when he got there, announcing his arrival. "Reno here with his prisoner, yo!"

There was a scrambling on the other side before the door hissed open to reveal a very harried-looking Zack and Cloud was dragged into a large back-breaking hug.

"Ow-ow-Zack!" The cadet desperately tried to squirm out of his SOLDIER friend's bear hug but was dragged inside instead, the two Turks following. Cloud was glad to see Zack, as he'd been on a mission for the past three days, but he had enough spine-crushing from fighting hand-to-hand with Rude.

"Awww, spiky, I missed ya!" Zack gave him one last squeeze before letting the Cadet go, who flopped back onto his feet, breathing heavily.

"Good to know I'm so desirable in Shinra," Cloud said sarcastically, attempting to catch his breath. Reno and Zack just laughed, tag-teaming him with another hug.

"Will you two stop?" An exasperated command from Tseng came, and Cloud jumped. In the haste of Zack's arrival, he hadn't even noticed the Turk leader in the shadows. Sephiroth leaning over his desk was a given, but Turks-except for Reno, who was always loud and annoying-were creepy good at hiding.

"But I enjoy having my rib cage being broken in three places!" Cloud said in mock sadness. "I don't know what I'd do without it!"

One glare from Tseng shut him up instantly. He instead, turned towards his subordinate. "Why is your face bleeding?"

Reno scratched at said cut, which was right below his left tattoo. "Cloudy's fault. He's getting to good at jumping like a frightened rabbit when I attack him."

He didn't even flinch when Cloud flicked him in the ear. "If you're complaining that much, let me heal you. I need to see if I can use materia in a non-destructive form."

The red-head snorted. "I see. So you're using me as a test-subject. I'm so loved."

He handed over the Cure materia anyway. Tseng seemed to be annoyed at the hold-up, but for some reason allowed it to continue, watching for the results. Suddenly a bit nervous, Cloud gripped his fingers around the softly pulsing green stone. Unlike some others, Cure materia always has a soft, calming aura that made him feel at ease, even if he was afraid that it might shatter like the others and actually hurt Reno.

But what could an overloaded Cure materia actually do? Heal him more? Cloud really needed to get over his fear, since it was only going to hurt him in the end. These peices of the Planet called to him and he needed to trust that voice…

His hand glowed green for a minute before the Cure spell descended on Reno in a shower of light and sparkles, quickly erasing the line of blood on his cheek. Cloud let out a breath, smiling widely. See? He could control materia, and that was a perfectly normal Cure spell-

The device on his wrist suddenly started beeping and the sound made him drop the materia on the ground. Zack and Sephiroth both started up towards him, and even Reno was looking concerned as Cloud slowly lifted up his wrist and revealed the metal band that was now giving off a signal.

The little blue bar, obviously his MP level, had decreased a little bit, and a few numbers were going across screen that he didn't understand.

"Cloud," Zack said in a very, very calm voice. "What is that?"

He held his hands up suddenly, knowing was the SOLDIER was so angry about. "Wait a minute, please! I…yeah. It's been on me for awhile, but I've been so busy with training and I got so freaked out I didn't even know how to mention it! And it's never done this before!"

Sephiroth was standing tall and casting a shadow on him. "Who put that on you?"

The beeping finally stopped and the cadet tried to stammer out an answer. "I-I wasn't expecting it and I went down to the doctor's expecting just to-"

"WHO PUT IT ON YOU?!"

Zack stepped forward and Cloud felt he was about to faint under the full force of Sephiroth's glare. The voice was laced with such anger and malice that he just wanted to crawl on the floor and beg for forgiveness. He was sure his heart stopped in there somewhere.

"Hojo put it on me and t-told me I couldn't take it off." Cloud's voice sounded really tiny in the silence. The transformation on everyone's face was immediate. Zack looked angry and offended, his hand on the hilt of his sword like he was ready to go slit the scientist's throat, and Reno had muttered a few swear words.

However, Cloud's focus was on the General, who hadn't moved an inch since he mentioned the name of his hated caregiver. He was scared of his reaction, that he would finally snap and Vincent would not be here to stop him.

His fears were confirmed when Sephiroth reached out and seized onto Cloud's wrist, his fingers twisting around the metal bracelet with more force than necessary. The cadet winced as the metal scraped across his skin-Tseng saying something and moving forward-but all of a sudden, the weight vanished and the band was ripped off of his arm. Cloud stared in awe as the device just crumpled in Sephiroth's hands as if it were made of paper and thrown to the ground.

"But-he said that thing couldn't be taken off by normal SOLDIERs!" Cloud said in disbelief.

"I am not a normal SOLDIER, Strife," was the General's only answer as he distastefully kicked the scrap metal away from himself. "I said before, he will not torment anyone under my protection."

Under his protection? Cloud remembered Sephiroth saying something about that before, but didn't realize how serious he took it.

"He's gonna know I don't have it anymore…" Cloud started to say but the General cut him off again.

"He'll have to talk to me about it, then."

There was an uneasy silence in the room that was becoming all too familiar in these meetings. Cloud always thought they'd make him feel better and more connected to current events, but lately it just left a bad taste in his mouth. Tseng cleared his throat.

"I have an explanation for Hojo's fascination." The Turk leader wasted no time in taking the laptop out from under his arm and setting it up on the table. Cloud and Reno immediately gathered around, Zack trying to shove his way in the huddle. A momentary glare later, and Tseng had pulled up what looked to be a series of files.

"After what happened to Reno, I took it upon myself to peer into Hojo's doings, and while I didn't find anything on him, what I did happen upon was very interesting," Tseng said, tapping on the keyboard. One of the files opened and Sephiroth's profile came up, along with his mako scores.

"Why is this of significance?" Sephiroth asked, and Tseng held up a finger.

"That's merely for comparison. You are Hojo's 'greatest success', as it were, however…" A few more clicks and another, classified profile came up, and-

"Holy hell, those mako readings!" Reno reached forward to touch the screen, much to his boss's displeasure. Even Sephiroth looked surprised by this information.

"Yes. The mako scores of this person are much higher than even Sephiroth's, surpassing it by a factor of at least 100%."

Cloud was speechless; his puppy friend less so. "And who is this person?" Zack asked.

"It is the unedited version of Cloud Strife's profile," Tseng said thinly, and his portrait and name appeared on screen.

Cloud was struck speechless. Him? He, of all people, had those sorts of mako scores?  _Dear Minerva, no wonder materia freaks out whenever I use it…._

"I-never knew…" he whispered.

"What even happens to give you scores like that? Did you fall in a mako pool when you were younger?" Zack sounded really distressed.

"What? No! I never went near those things like some of the other kids did! The biggest thing that ever happened was me falling down a bridge." Cloud ran his fingers through his hair. How did he get mako scores that high?

"Wait, you said unedited, yo. How the hell did Cloud flunk outta SOLDIER with shit like that?" Reno asked, bringing up a very good point. Said cadet's head shot up at this new information.

"What?" Cloud snarled, the pure venom in his voice, and Zack backed up.

Tseng, as calm as ever, answered that question. "This is your accurate file that was posted in Hojo's database. It however was edited and he manually flunked you out of the system so you would end up as a trooper. I do believe it would've been easier for you to have 'disappeared' then, if it had not been for one very important detail."

Cloud felt sick to his stomach. The reason that he had flunked out, the reason he had felt so weak these past few months, the reason he fought so hard to get noticed…it was all some crazy scientist's schemes?

"What detail?" Reno asked, and Tseng turned around to stare pointedly at Zack. The first class blinked and pointed at himself.

"Me?"

Tseng nodded. "He couldn't exactly make Cloud disappear from the radar since he is now best friends with Zack Fair, SOLDIER first class."

That made sense, but that meant Cloud was actually supposed to become SOLDIER. What if he tried to prevent him a second time?

"What on Gaia would cause Mako scores like that?" Zack repeated frantically. "That's higher than Sephiroth and I didn't even know that was possible!"

"Neither did I, and I suspect that is what Hojo is after." Sephiroth's eyes flicked over to Cloud, who was still standing there, shocked silent. It wasn't every day a Turk revealed to you that a mad scientist was after you.

"I…" The cadet lifted up his hand, examining it as if that would somehow reveal the answers he wanted. "Well I know why materia freaks out around me."

Tseng nodded. "Increased compatibility with mako would produce those effects."

"So we really, really don't wanna allow Hojo to get his fuckin' paws on ya," Reno said, nearly growling at the screen. "I can't believe he's involvin' me in this th-ow!"

The entire room looked at Reno as he suddenly cried out, a hand to his head. "Ow, fuckin' hell…"

Rude-who Cloud had forgotten was there-came over to assist his partner. "What is it, Reno?"

"Just a headache. Man, I've been gettin' those a lot," Reno said, rubbing his temples.

Cloud cocked his head. In the few weeks he'd spent hanging out with his friend, he knew that Reno did not get headaches out of nowhere. In fact, one time the red-head had a spine embedded in his foot and didn't even get it removed until two days later because he hadn't realized it was there.

Something very fishy was going on here, and Cloud was almost certain it involved Hojo somehow.

"Rude, take Reno back to your apartment. Cloud, I suspect you'll want to continue preparing for your exam tomorrow, so I suggest you leave with him," Tseng ordered, ignoring Reno's protests. Cloud looked quizzically at the Turk leader, still more than a little disturbed by this new information.

"That is the reason I called you in Cloud, but it is clear you know little more than I do," Tseng continued, still attempting to shoo Reno and Rude out of the room. His red-haired friend really wasn't looking all that well.

"If Hojo hunts you down again, Strife, come to me immediately." Sephiroth's gaze fell down upon him, and it was all Cloud could do to swallow nervously and nod. Somehow he knew that Hojo wouldn't just accept this defeat and leave him alone. The General smiled slightly-causing the cadet's breath to hitch in his throat-and he spoke once more. "Good luck on your test."

It felt more like a death sentence than a well-wish.

* * *

_"Should I be afraid?" Cloud asked, surrounded by the comforting green of the Planet and the beautiful swaying flowers of the church. He had fallen asleep on the night of his test, only to awaken in Aerith's garden once more, and he was forever grateful to the Goddess for giving him this chance._

_Aerith's green gaze blinked at him a few times before settling back into her warm smile. "What is there to be afraid of in you, Cloud?"_

_"Well…there's something different about me. I can use materia so well-too well, in fact-and for some reason I can resonate with Mako on a level I shouldn't be able to. I'm not like you," Cloud said desperately, reaching out to her wisdom and healing._

_"Cloud." Her slender hands came over and took his. "Sometimes, I don't know what the Lifestream wants either. Sometimes I'm confused by it too. But you aren't a monster."_

_"Heh. Zack said that as well."_

_Aerith's face brightened at the mention of that name. "You know Zack?"_

_Somehow they both knew they were talking about the same person._

_"Yeah. I'm sorry, I didn't realize you two were together. He's my…best friend." Cloud tried to hide his face but Aerith reached out and tilted it up again._

_"It's fine, Cloud. You don't need to hide. He talks about how wonderful you are all the time." She smiled and the blonde couldn't help but do the same. Her's was so warm and inviting, it would be a crime not to._

_"But what is happening to me?"_

_Aerith turned away, her braid swaying gently. "I don't know, but you are special to the Planet. You're not something to destroy."_

_Cloud couldn't say anything, how could he?_

_"You're someone born to save." Again he had the feeling something other than the flower girl was talking to him, but already the green light was eating away at his vision. He tried to call out but his voice wouldn't work._

_She turned around once again before he woke up, unknown tears falling from his face and a voice lingering inside of his mind._

_Don't be afraid, Cloud._

* * *

To say Hojo was displeased was an understatement. He was absolutely, righteously furious that his monitoring device on Cloud had been shattered before it was able to give him any good readings! There was only one person in the entire Shinra building that would be able to harm such a machine, and it was his precious, ungrateful Sephiroth. He really needed to teach that boy a lesson, but for right now, his backup plan would have to do.

The scientist turned to the body of the young Turk resting on one of the examination tables. Getting Reno alone took a lot of work, as his annoying partner made sure to never let him out of his sight, but Hojo prided himself in being more clever than any man.

He was very skilled in creating puppets, and this little red-headed Turk made an excellent one.

"Let's see what you've accomplished for me," Hojo said, rolling up Reno's right sleeve. He was certain the cocktail of drugs he had given the boy would hold him unconscious at least for the next day-after all, they were meant to be used on the enhanced.

He had taken the liberty of planting a device in this specimen's right arm-no need to cripple him-that not only was a tracking device, but recorded all unusual mako levels and genetic information of people close to him. And Hojo knew for a fact this boy was close friends with Cloud Strife. It was a bit less reliable than a simple wrist device, but a lot harder to detect.

He was proud of the design as well. While all the other scientists wasted time in disagreeing with his methods and trodding all over him, Hojo had taken Jenova's ability to copy and paste genetic information and patched it onto a piece of technology that now lay twisted in the muscles and sinews of Reno's right arm. A perfect organic machine.

Looking at the scan of the boy's arm, he inserted the needle in his forearm, drawing out the necessary amount of blood to record changes, before making an incision. Ignoring the blood that seeped out from the wound, Hojo inserted his fingers, rooting around in the Turk's muscles before finding the cold metal of the device he needed. Pulling it out and wiping some of the blood off so he could see it clearly, Hojo extracted the chip that contained all the information, and set it off in a tray. Quickly, as to not let his experiment lose too much blood, the scientist put in a fresh chip and carefully re-inserted the monitor. The Cure materia he equipped made sure no traces of a wound, other than dried blood, remained.

"Let's see how useful you are to me," Hojo said, as he moved over to Reno's left side. "Have you been kind to the little gift I have given you?"

His gloved fingers reached out and opened the boy's left eye. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing wrong, but the scientist knew far better.

"You should be honored, boy. Not many people get to become incubators like you have," he muttered to himself, holding the eye-lid open and finding the right needled he had placed…around here…somewhere.

The Turk did not respond, nor would he, too far gone to even make a noise. Testing the needle with his finger, Hojo carefully jabbed it into the center of his pupil without even a second of hesitation. A tiny amount of black liquid filled up the syringe before he deemed it safe to take out. A pity he could not extract more without arousing suspicion, though the Turk's vision would probably be impaired for the next couple of days. It's not like he cared.

Hojo flicked the syringe to settle the fluid. It seemed to have an interesting reaction from being so close to Cloud, seeing how the cells were no longer dormant. "Beautiful…you have served your purpose well."

* * *

"Of all the places we're having are survival training, it has to be the goddamn Nibel mountains?!" Rin shouted into the sky. The sky did not answer back.

"Calm down, Rin, we have Cloud with us. He's a native."

The survival test to weed out the weak, as the instructor so helpfully described it, was basically dropping them into an uninhabited zone with minimal supplies and a mission for them to find the base that was set up previously. Then they flew away in the helicopter, laughing. Teamwork was not required, but highly recommended.

Cloud, out of the three of them, seemed to be the only one least affected by the cold, but even up at this altitude, it was getting a bit extreme.

"Hey, I never went into the mountains this far. There are very good reasons you are not supposed to," he grumbled, pacing so his legs wouldn't fall asleep.

That shut both of the brothers up, as they looked around at the white landscape nervously. "I really don't want to die like this."

Cloud realized he probably scared the crap out of them, suddenly guilty. It was a weird feeling to be responsible for other people, instead of the other way around. They'd somehow taken to him as an unofficial leader.

"It's fine, though. I know how to deal with this terrain and where the best area for a camp would be. We should get going while it's still light." Cloud smiled slightly, trying to imitate Zack's way of raising morale. It worked, for Rin and Seth eagerly gathered around him and started off in the direction he indicated, heading for slightly lower ground.

He hoped while he was stuck out here the in the wilderness, the rest of his companions would be okay.

* * *

Zack had taken it upon himself to check up on how Angeal was doing, after the reveal of Cloud's strange power, but he was not expecting what he found.

His mentor was quickly aging and greying, as much as he was staying strong for his student's benefit, and Zack could clearly see the lines of pain written in the older man's face as he desperately held together a body that was falling apart.

"Yeah, Cloud's training is proceeding really well. He's a natural with a sword, I wish you could see him! And he's smart and getting tougher. I almost don't recognize him from the first time I met him, even if he still turns into jello when Sephiroth is in the room," Zack said, finally getting a chuckle from Angeal. His heart warmed to see his mentor smile, though he knew it wouldn't last very long.

"I'm glad to hear that. You sound like you are doing well for both of yourselves, Zack." His hand dropped onto Zack's shoulder and he leaned into the familiar weight.

"Are you doing okay, Angeal? Tell me the truth," Zack said seriously, looking him in the eye. The older first class sighed, a few hairs drifting down from his head.

"I made a new friend here in Wutai, but I'm afraid I don't know what Genesis is doing." Zack looked around for this friend, but he presumed his mentor had probably sent them away so he could talk privately. "He has always been a bit of an enigma to both of us, and my time is running out."

"Angeal, don't say things like that!" He protested, but Angeal shook his head.

"Zack, I called you here for a very important reason. One more important than my life." Slowly, moving with care, Angeal knelt in front of his student, and drew his sword. Zack just stood there, his heart in his throat, not knowing what the other man was planning. Surely he hadn't fallen into the same madness that Genesis had…

The next words Angeal spoke erased all of his doubts and crushed his soul.

"Zack, I chose you as my student because I saw something within you. I saw the makings of a true SOLDIER, a true hero. You are worthy of the title I fought so long to keep, and now, lost forever."

"Angeal, I-"

His mentor, his friend, held up a hand to stop him, and for once, Zack did. The air held a somber mood that not even the puppy could break.

"I may not be a monster as others have led me to believe, Zack, but I have lost the right to this sword. I have lost the right to be called honorable. That should go to the person who saved my soul and gave me the gift of saying goodbye," Angeal said, and slowly turned the Buster Sword so the blade was pointing down in the ground. "Take it, Zack, you deserve it more than I."

The full gravity of what Angeal was asking hit him and Zack's knees hit the ground. "Angeal, you can't do this to me!"

"I have lost my honor. I have lost the right to be a hero."

"You-you stll are one to me! Angeal, don't give up! You're making it sound as if you're dying…" Zack choked out.

A hand reached over and rested on his head, gently. "I am dying, Zack, and before I fade away completely, I have to give away my honor, my dreams to the one person I know will look after them. Take the sword, Zack."

Tears were falling from his eyes freely now, but Zack didn't care. He didn't want to lose Angeal, not to death, not to anyone, and he couldn't accept such a thing. "I can't-"

"I'm entrusting it to you. You're every inch the SOLDIER I wished I could be." Zack looked up at his mentor, startled, but a kind and gentle smile greeted him. "I wouldn't say it if it were not true."

He couldn't say anything to that, just letting out a choked sob and burying his face into Angeal's shoulder. Those were the words he'd always hoped to hear from him, but not like this. Never like this.

"Take the sword, Zack," his mentor whispered gently, "Be a hero to them. You're strong enough."

Slowly, carefully, he stood up, his hands curling around the hilt of the Buster Sword. He could almost remember the first day he held a sword, the magical feeling of strength that flowed through him. He'd been so naive that one day, but now he knew he had not changed. His sword was never a weapon, but a symbol.

Zack lifted up the blade, pressing it gently against his forward, still trying to keep in his tears, causing his shoulders to shake.

"To be a SOLDIER, you need to have dreams and honor," Angeal said, slowly backing away from his former student.

"And above all else, protect your honor as SOLDIER…" Zack's voice sounded tiny as it faded away into the sky that had stolen his only mentor away from him.

* * *

_I have since concluded that the Wanderer from LOVELESS and the Faithless Soldier from the Tale of Three Brothers are in fact, the same person. Of the three, he is the one who wandered the world, seeking redemption in the wings that bore his name as a monster and a dream of reuniting his friends. He was alone, lived alone, walked alone, died alone._

_But scholars of LOVELESS did not read the inspiring story close enough, for the Faithless Soldier did not have a completely miserable existence. In his tale, he happened upon a small boy, whom taking kindness and pity on him, raised him as his own and trained him in the ways of a hero._

_They had become separated when the Faithless Soldier had turned into a monster, but at the end of their story, he passed along his legacy to his student, the true Hero of the story. In that way, even though his story had ended, the Hero's had just begun._

_And I can only hope he found peace._

_-from the files of Uther Strife_

_The Faithless Soldier_


	21. Rise!

Cosmo Canyon was a beautiful place. Vincent could not remember what it looked like from his time, but he suspected in the 20 years he was asleep, the place had not changed at all. The red rocks and sand, coupled by the buildings almost fused to the mountain, connected by wooden bridges and illuminated by the rising sun always made for a perfect picture.

Vincent had continued to disregard Cait Sith's warnings and run through the days and nights without stop. His body did not need rest; what he did need was answers and sleep would not provide those.

"Never thought I'd see th' place with me own eyes!" The stuffed cat exclaimed, bouncing up and down with joy. "The forefront of environmental studies an' research on the Lifestream!"

He had to admit, the place was pretty impressive, made atmospheric by the distant flute music being played by one of the residents near the cliff-side. Vincent strode forward, intent on asking just exactly where this person Aerith spoke of was, but a strange figure loping out in front of him made him stop.

It was strange in the fact that it was not human, but rather seemed to be a red lion with short fur and feathers decorating its mane. A little flame was lit on the lion's tail, which waved around as intelligent eyes peered up at him.

"Dear Minerva, I thought yer kind were extinct!" The stuffed cat gasped upon laying his eyes on the beast. To Vincent's surprise, it-no, he-responded.

"I see you know of me, though I'm wondering why a doll is speaking," The lion said in a rough voice.

"He is a robot. I am looking for someone here who is a researcher of the Lifestream," Vincent said curtly, not wanting to deal with the odd introductions.

"Really, none of us have th' right t' talk about who's weirdest lookin'!" Cait Sith said, hopping down from his moogle steed.

The lion looked questioningly at the doll for a moment and then up to Vincent, who did not move a muscle. He'd dealt with many strange things in his life as a Turk, but he did not know what to make of this creature. He seemed friendly enough though, in the way he stared at the two of them with intense curiosity.

"You probably mean my grandfather. He is the best and oldest sage of our village." The lion's tail swished again and his voice carried a note of pride.

_His grandfather? Then the person I was sent to see is a lion?_ Vincent did not mind as long as they answered his questions. Had he been younger, he would've been fascinated by this one's species, as his father was a scientist, but right now he had priorities.

"Then take us to your grandfather," he said again, his cape flapping in the breeze.

"Me name's Cait Sith!" The stuffed cat said, bowing deeply, seemingly unfazed by being ignored. "Tall, dark an' grim over here is Vincent Valentine."

"I am Nanaki." The lion introduced himself, bowing his head. "I am pleased to meet fellow warriors for the Planet."

Vincent did not know why he assumed that of them, but it was a better title then ones he'd given to himself. Besides, they were far enough from Shinra that his name did not matter. He nodded slightly.

"I will take you to my grandfather. He'll love to meet you." Nanaki turned around, his tail waving at them to follow him.

* * *

"Everything is snow out here!" Rin complained as they kept traipsing through huge piles of the stuff.

"It's the Nibel Mountains, what did you expect?" Cloud said, tired of the constant complaining. "This is nothing, you should see it in blizzard season."

"Noo, don't even mention blizzards!" The older brother pleaded, trying to imitate Zack's puppy look, but failing miserably.

Seth, slightly behind both of them, laughed. "Well, we're from Costa del Sol. We're not used to winter."

"Explains it," Cloud muttered. City people never knew how weather worked. Zack was from a tropical area and even he was great with Modeoheim conditions. And from what he could tell, so was Angeal.

They had been trekking for the past few hours down the side of a cliff on a narrow path that had finally widened enough so they didn't have to worry about falling over the side. Cloud was actually proud of the fact that they had only fallen once down it, though he'd had to rely on Rin and Seth's strength more than once to get past rockfalls and dealing with a couple of the nastier monsters.

The instructor had told them the final base they were to find was hidden somewhere in the mountains and the cadets were to not only survive the conditions, but find it within an undetermined time limit. Cloud, being used to the mountains, knew the best places to hide camps from the hunters that frequented their village and subsequently had to teach Rin and Seth everything he knew. They were doing fairly well, in his opinion, for two kids who'd never stepped outside of a city before.

"So you can determine direction just by looking at the sun?" Rin asked, staring up at the sky.

"Yeah. And at night you can use stars, but I wouldn't suggest being out in these mountains at night. The camp will probably be in an isolated valley in the middle of a few ranges and can either of you tell me why that is?" Cloud asked, suddenly feeling like an instructor.

The two brothers stared at each other for a minute before Seth answered him. "Shielded from the winds?"

"And?"

"Monsters uh, don't go there?" Rin added.

"Bingo. Monsters like the peaks of the mountains for their dens. So making camps in valleys is the best idea, and I know the perfect area around here," Cloud said, smiling slightly.

"Hahah, I knew it was a good idea to team up with this kid!" Seth chortled, shoving Cloud, making him slip on a random patch of ice.

"Yeah, that's why I'm not letting you get off scotch free on me, you jerks," he retorted, though the venom was lost with his grin.

"Come on, lets carry the victor home!" Rin yelled, scooping Cloud up, despite his protests, and running off down the path.

They somehow managed to find the camp in record time, despite falling off a short cliff.

* * *

Angeal felt lighter now, and it wasn't just because he wasn't carrying his Buster Sword anymore. It felt refreshing to put his future into the hands of someone he completely trusted. He'd handed off his legacy as a SOLDIER to Zack and knew with all confidence he would pull through and become the hero he always dreamed of being. Angeal, degrading and dying as he was, did not know how much longer he would last, or if he'd be able to solve the mystery of Genesis and what exactly he was up to.

_You have changed so much, Genesis. So much so that I feared you were lost forever. But when I saw you there at Nibelheim, and how you didn't kill Cloud outright, I knew a little bit of you remained._

Cloud had said he didn't like seeing friends fighting; well, neither did Angeal.

"You're with the nasty Shinra, aren't you?" A loud voice broke through his thoughts, and he looked down to see Yuffie glaring at him, hands on her hips.

"I saw you with that black-haired guy, and you were talking to him! That's means you're Shinra!" She continued before Angeal had a chance to speak. The ex-SOLDIER breathed out heavily. Yuffie had seen his conversation with Zack, then. He was hoping he had distracted her enough…

"I'm not with Shinra. I used to be, but I grew to hate them and now I defected—I left the company, and I am on my own here," he said, in terms he hoped the 8-year-old could understand.

"Then why were you talking to him? He's in Shinra!"

"He used to be a student of mine. I gave him my sword because he deserves it more than I do. Also, he may be with Shinra, but he's a good guy and he's helping me." To his surprise, the girl seemed to be taking it pretty well.

"He's an okay guy, because he helps me find treasure since I defeated him once before." Yuffie held up a fist in demonstration. "He's not terrible but you still lied to me!"

Angeal was shocked. Zack knew this girl already? Just who was she? He knew his student was involved in the war on Wutai but…he would have to ask him later. Especially about the treasure hunting thing.

"I lied to you because I didn't think you would understand, I'm not with Shinra anymore. I hate them as much as you do," Angeal said calmly. "They are the ones who—they are the ones who shunned me when I was no longer useful."

Yuffie had a reflective moment. "Well, I don't know what shunned means but I'll have to keep an eye on you from now on! I, the great Wutaiin ninja, will conquer all of Shinra!"

He shook his head, almost smiling. She reminded him too much of a younger Zack. "Of course, I understand."

A jolt of pain shook through him and he shuddered, a few grey hairs falling from his head. Yuffie, in the throes of her victory march did not notice as he stumbled and had to lean on his broadsword.

_My body is falling apart. I do not have much time left. I need to hurry to Genesis if I am to accomplish anything at all._

Shouldering his pain as he did his sword, he called out to the little ninja. "Come. We must continue."

* * *

"Reno, that is the third time today! What is wrong with you?" Tseng asked, as the red-head once again slammed into the door-frame. He had been making Reno run errands all over Shinra in an effort to keep the boy busy and out of trouble—with Rude tailing him whenever he could—and so far it seemed to be fairly effective. The only problem was Reno had been constantly tripping over things and running into objects all day.

"Man, dunno why but the vision's all shot in my left eye. I can't see much, it's just a blur," he grumbled, holding up a hand in front of himself and trying to focus both of his eyes on it. His right eye was fine; his left eye, however, made everything a blur.

"Come over here," Tseng ordered and Reno complied. The Turk leader stared into his eyes for a minute before declaring he could see nothing wrong with either of them.

"Well, I certainly ain't imaginin' it, yo!" The red-head shot back, causing his boss to roll his eyes.

"I certainly got that. Not even you are that clumsy. Did you injure yourself?"

"Nope. I just woke up today and I couldn't see shit. Nearly gave Rude a heart attack when I knocked everything over in the bathroom." Okay, the look on his partner's face would've been hilarious if he hadn't been so panicked at the time.

"Curious. I don't suppose you've had it checked out," Tseng said, glancing back at his computer.

"With Professor Creep-show on my tail, I ain't going NEAR that place. For all I know, this is something he did to me!" The question still remained is how he'd get past Rude, because as far as he knew, except for last night when he was sleeping, his partner was always by his side.

When Tseng didn't answer, Reno looked up, confused. He thought that his boss cared a bit more then that, but apparently whatever was on his computer was more important than him. About to leave in a huff, Tseng finally looked up and called him back.

"I just got an email that the cadets are on their way back to finish their SOLDIER tests. Why don't you go and cheer your friend on and  _stay out of trouble?"_ The older Turk emphasized the last line.

"Jeez, you make it sound like I'm gonna set fire to the bathrooms again. I'll behave," Reno said lazily, waving him off before he left the office, careful not to run into the door again. Tseng was acting weird. After he went to give Cloud some 'encouragement', he'd go and find out what exactly was happening.

* * *

"Come oooon, let me see, Sephiroth. Let me see!" For once the General was glad that he was possibly the only person in Shinra left with a height advantage over Zack Fair. It came in handy when he received the reports for the cadets scores and an overeager puppy was desperate to see how his hand-picked student was doing.

The rest of the SOLDIERs in the observation room were laughing uproariously, for the normally stoic General playing keep-away with an zealous Zack was not a common sight. He, of course, was none too pleased with the attention, but there was no way he was letting the other first-class get his hold on the papers.

Luckily the rest of the room was distracted by the cadets finally filing into the room below. Normally there weren't this many SOLDIERs here at this sort of thing, but it had been an especially good year for recruits and more importantly, they wanted to observe a special blonde-haired cadet.

The entire program had been surprised when Zack Fair not only returned from Nibelheim unscathed, but declared that the trooper he'd taken with him had so much skill he'd immediately inducted him into the SOLDIER program again. It had aroused an air of confusion, as many of the instructors had remembered the cadet from last year having terrible scores, being too weak to keep up with the rest of the classes. And yet, remarkably, the famous first class had taken him on to be a student.

But perhaps that's all what he needed for not only did this blonde enter the SOLDIER program again, but excelled in it. His physical scores were still on the weak side, but he more than made up for that in ingenuity, materia use, and swordplay. It had been rumored that he was even being trained by the Turks, for he demonstrated an almost unprecedented improvement in martial arts classes, his style eerily similar to what Turks used.

Some of the SOLDIERs joked that Zack had replaced the kid with a clone, while a few others spread the rumor that he and his mentor were engaging in rather 'illicit' activities, which Sephiroth immediately put a squash to. He would not have anyone thinking of Zack that way.

Said first class was still attempting to get the papers, but after seeing he would not win this fight, gave up.

"You will have to observe him like everyone else," he said smoothly, inwardly smirking at the scrunched look on the puppy's face.

"It's fine, Zack. I heard Cloud did really well on the survival test. He'll be fine with what you've been teaching him." Kunsel came up next to his friend.

"Really? He did good?" Zack asked, whirling and the second class just laughed.

"Shiva, dude, you need to calm down. Yes. Now have faith in your student and stop annoying the General." Kunsel pushed Zack over to the window, Sephiroth was secretly grateful at the intervention, for now he could look at the papers without a distraction.

The instructor noted that not only had Cloud found the hidden base in record time, he had taught his two teammates, who were ignorant of living in the wild all they needed to survive, and the three of them worked together to reach camp. The same could not be said of many of the other cadets, three of whom got lost and never even finished the test.

_Perhaps he simply had home-field advantage. We'll see in these upcoming tests._

Sephiroth had locked himself in his office these past weeks not because of this debacle with Hojo and his friends, but because he had been obsessing over this blonde cadet and why he was suddenly so important. Why did everyone like him? Why was he so unique that even Hojo was interested?

He couldn't say he was jealous of the attention in that regard, but even Angeal held a fondness for Cloud Strife.

The boy had slowly taken over his life and Sephiroth didn't notice until it was too late. Truly, he should be so far beneath his notice that the General didn't even acknowledge him, but for some reason, he couldn't ignore it. Instead a burning desire to know more, see more, learn more consumed him and he took the boy under his protection. Somewhere in those eyes was that same spirit that had saved him from the encroaching voices of Jenova; the same will that had stood up to Genesis and lived.

And now here he was to see what type of SOLDIER he made.

_I'm not obsessed. I'm just…interested,_ he reassured himself.

"Gil for your thoughts?" Someone said right behind him, but being the General, he did not show a visible reaction. Lost in his thoughts as he was, the person had snuck up behind him without even a warning. A vulnerability on the battlefield, and one he would need to correct.

He turned only to be greeted by Reno, the red-haired Turk who had been 'helping' them in their endeavor. His entrance had make several of the other SOLDIERs nervously jump, not having noticed his present despite their enhanced senses.

_Impressive._

"Reno, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you were banned from the SOLDIER section," Zack said cheerfully. The Turk merely strolled over, leaning against the observation windows.

"Only the kitchens, yo. I'm jus' here to observe my friend Cloudy because Tseng thinks I'll be outta trouble here," Reno said, leaning his head back.

Already a whisper was going through the crowd. This blonde boy was friends with a Turk as well? It all but confirmed the rumors he was trained by them and a couple even whispered that maybe he was a plant.

Sephiroth nearly snorted. Despite Cloud's penchant for being very quiet and getting things done, he was not Turk material, at least in his opinion.

"Out of trouble. That's a good one. Anyway, you're just in time. They're doing the physical tests." Zack pointed out the window and they finally all shut up and started observing like they were supposed to.

The physical tests were made up of several strength exercises, such as push-ups, pull-ups, running, stretches, and at the end of it all, hand-to-hand combat.

Cloud managed his way through all of them, though he seemed to still struggle most through ones that required pure arm strength. He still had improved significantly from last year; Sephiroth could tell from the muscles that coiled under the cadet's skin as he moved through the exercises.

The running test was where things got interesting, for as soon as the bell sounded, Cloud shot off like a rocket, having to skid to a stop when he finished his laps.

"Hey, that's no fair! He almost beat my record!" Reno protested, earning a few laughs from the other SOLDIERs, who were impressed with the cadet's score as well.

Zack, being friendlier to the Turk than normal, clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Well, looks like you'll have to get back to training then, if you wanna keep your 'fastest in Shinra' title."

"Fastest un-enhanced, you mean," Reno grumbled, but otherwise he took it well. Sephiroth did not tell the red-head he was actually faster then some of the third-classes. The boy's ego did not need to be swelled anymore.

His hand-to-hand test wend similarly. Sephiroth was almost worried when he was paired up with someone twice his size, but Cloud proved effective in taking advantage of his weaknesses and even managed to flip his opponent onto his back, effectively finishing the duel.

"Where the hell did he learn a move like that?!" Zack exclaimed, turning an accusing eye again at the Turk, who merely shrugged.

"That's classified." And he wouldn't say anymore.

All in all, Cloud showed enormous improvement from last year, thanks to his tutelage from Zack Fair and his determination to succeed, but the next test would be one to determine his fate. The sword fight against a SOLDIER first or second class.

* * *

Cloud had a little secret he'd been keeping from both Reno and Zack; his desire to dual-wield swords had grown so strong he actually hunted down Kunsel, Zack's friend and an expert on fighting with multiple blades and begged the second class to teach him how to fight. Kunsel had been surprisingly okay with it, even when Cloud told him not to tell Zack, who was still iffy with the idea of him dual-wielding broadswords.

And so, the second class entered him into a mighty crash course on how to use multiple blades in a fight. It was really hard learning how to fight with his left hand, but Kunsel forced him by tying his right hand up behind him. Many bruises later, Zack's friend declared him reasonably good at this, though he wished he had more time to teach Cloud the nuances of double blades.

That wasn't all that Cloud was keeping secret. Ever since getting his first double blades, he entertained the idea of using more, like four or six, during a battle. Fighting with Reno, he'd seen how effective pulling weapons out of nowhere was on opponents, no matter what their size, and at Cloud's height, he needed every advantage he could get.

Of course, it all came down to the fight against a SOLDIER first or second, the final test for the cadets. Cloud was suddenly nervous, not knowing who he was going to fight and getting cold feet on his secret plan. They were obviously more skilled than he was, and Cloud was probably going to fuck up and injure himself instead of look cool.

The nervousness only grew as he watched the other cadets square off against their opponents and he slowly slunk away into the back so he'd be the last picked. All the other students were amazing with their swords; going blow to blow with the enhanced SOLDIERs, weaving a dance around the room; they had really learned their stuff and there was no way that Cloud could measure up.

Glancing around at the stands—since this was a big event in the SOLDIER program and there was always a live audience—the blonde cadet spotted a familiar head of black spikes frantically waving at him. Zack was there! And there was Reno next to him…he could almost hear his first class friend yelling at him to show him his stuff and Cloud couldn't help but smile at that. Right, he had Zack and Reno's support so the only thing he could do was show them his best. That didn't help with the butterflies in his stomach but at least it calmed his trembling limbs.

Of course, his turn came around far too fast and Cloud finally stepped out, waiting for the fight of his life.

* * *

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. Zack had somehow convinced him to show up for the SOLDIER sword-fights by mentioning Cloud, though he hung back to not draw attention. He was bored with the other cadets, as the fighters were all normal and boring. He wanted to see Cloud fight, but he was so nervous he was the last picked.

Which led him to his current issue: Cloud's opponent. It was a SOLDIER second, per norm, since Zack unfortunately couldn't be his opponent due to being a mentor. But Sephiroth knew about this one; he wasn't particularly skilled in anything but beating up his opponents with sheer force. Certainly not a good opponent for the blonde cadet, since the SOLDIER's face read that he was looking forward to beating up on a seemingly helpless cadet.

As General of SOLDIER, this would not do at all. With a slight glance at Zack, he strode out onto the field, causing the low murmuring in the room to completely stop. A flick of his wrist was enough to send the second class running as he took his place, drawing out Masamune.

"I am you opponent, Strife," he said, leveling his gaze at the small blonde cadet who looked ready to melt into the floor.

* * *

What. The. HELL WAS GOING ON? One moment he was steeling himself to fight the mean-looking second class, and then the next he was standing against the General himself in all of his glory. It took a few moments for Cloud's jaw to even work and even the referee for the matches looked shocked.

"What?" He said dumbly, glancing around. Everyone else looked as shocked as him, meaning this wasn't planned at all. Could the General even  _do_  that?

_He's Sephiroth, he probably can._

"You heard me, Strife. I am your opponent. Prepare yourself accordingly." The exceedingly tall man stared him down, and Cloud felt his knees threatening to give away. He'd been hopeful that he might actually pass the test this year with how well he'd done comparatively, but with THE Sephiroth as his final opponent, there was no way he was probably going to survive this fight.

But he remembered; the moment in the Shinra manor, he'd shared a moment with the General where he seemed almost human. And he'd even protected Cloud not only from Genesis, but from Hojo as well. He'd explicitly stated Cloud was under his care.

Gazing up again, he saw the challenge still in the General's eyes, but it wasn't lethal. It was a challenge that wanted to see just how the small blonde could measure up to everything he'd promised. And it wasn't like him to just back away from something like that.

"One second, sir," he answered back, his voice steady for once and ran over to the weapons rack. He had his normal standard issue broadsword, but he drew out three others and attached them to his back with the last-minute additions he made to his harness.

Coming back, Sephiroth raised an eye at his ensemble but said nothing otherwise. Good. He'd love to prove to everyone just how wrong they were. "Are you ready, Strife?"

"Go for it," he answered, sliding himself into a fighting stance.

Sephiroth didn't hesitate but flew straight at him, Masamune flashing in the light. He barely had any time to dodge to the left, before the giant sword swept around and came at him again.

_Oh god, I'm so glad Reno is left handed,_ he muttered wildly in his head as he countered Sephiroth's blade, causing him to bounce backwards onto his hands and flip upwards again. Most people were unused to left-handed swordsman, but he'd gotten his Turk friend to help him out on that aspect though he clearly wasn't enhanced-

Cloud ducked, and swiped out sideways at the General, his sword missing by a good foot as he backed away. Cloud had the disadvantage of terrible reach in comparision to Masamune's six-foot blade, so his blows were constantly falling short.

He needed to get closer. What was it Rude and Reno had said?  _When fighting opponents taller than yourself, your advantage is using their momentum against them._

Cloud suddenly backed away, and Sephiroth, thinking he was perhaps trying to get out of reach, rushed forward. He suddenly reversed directions, spinning around and launching a kick at Sephiroth's torso. He came much closer than ever before, but the General's excellent reflexes easily saved him by sidestepping and hitting him with the flat of his sword against his back. Cloud stumbled forward, rolling into a defensive position as the sword came flashing down again.

Their blades clashed for a moment, sparks flying and he was close enough to see the details on the hilt of his sword and the gleaming look in Sephiroth's eyes. He knew this was not the General's full strength; the blows barely hurt and didn't even make his sword vibrate like Zack did, and he knew that look. Sephiroth was  _toying_ with him. Cloud had a sudden flash of all the bullies that had tormented him and gritted his teeth. He was angry now, not even the General got to make fun of him like this.

With an inarticulate yell, he put his legs behind his sword and pushed Masamune back, releasing his two handed grip and drawing out another sword. He didn't even wait but struck out and Sephiroth's exposed right side, failing to see the flash of surprise as the blonde was suddenly wielding two blades at once.

If he'd been paying attention, he'd have heard the gasps and exclamations from around the room as Cloud actually put the General on the defensive for a moment with his double broadswords, but the General quickly regained himself.

Cloud was a lot faster light this; with his two swords, he could rain out a constant barrage of blows, dodging in and around Masamune's reach to strike at two places at once, causing Sephiroth to actually jump around rather than just block his sword. The deadly dance continued for a minute until Cloud slipped up and accidentally hit two of his blades together, causing Masamune to wave by and cut a line across his left shoulder.

He stumbled back, breathing heavily. Cloud could feel the burning in his legs and especially arms already, and his endurance was almost shot.  _Fuck it all…I can't keep this up any longer…_ He needed to do something extraordinarily stupid to get a one-up on Sephiroth, and so a last-second plan formed in Cloud's head as Sephiroth again rushed towards him.

He backed up, hoping to cause the General to lunge his sword at him, and thankfully he did, Masamune piercing straight at his shoulder. Cloud sidestepped and reversed his swords so they were pointing at the ground and drove them home crossing the twin blades so they trapped Masamune underneath them. Without missing a beat, he flipped over the sword hilt, drew out another one from his back and struck at Sephiroth's face.

Time seemed to slow down as his blow came down on the General's head, a look of shock and rage growing in his cat-slit eyes. Sephiroth of course side-stepped at the last minute, but Cloud's blow was so close it sheared off a lock of his silver hair, the strands flying up into the sky as the sword came down through them.

Cloud's feet hit the ground and both of them froze for a minute. Sephiroth's hand slowly went up to the side of his head, which was now missing a few hairs, a growing look of horror on his face. Cloud merely kept breathing, sword in hand, not believing he actually did that to the Silver General himself. Didn't Sephiroth really like his hair?

Time only stood still for a second longer, until Sephiroth's eyes narrowed and his boot lashed out, catching Cloud on his chest and slamming him hard into the wall behind him. He heard something crack and he didn't know whether it was him or the wall, but he had no time to think before Sephiroth was  _right in front of him,_ and desperately dived to the side.

He landed on the floor, exhausted from the fight, but he knew he couldn't stop now. He flipped over, throwing his sword at the General in hopes of distracting him so he could pull out the other. His chest was hurting him, but he had so much adrenaline flowing through his system it felt like he could lift a truck. The other two swords from earlier were now behind him, having been flung there when Sephiroth ripped Masamune out and he stumbled backwards hoping to reach them, but somehow, the General got there before him. Cloud turned around, blocking blows from every angle, his arms reacting before his mind ever did.

_HE'S NOT HOLDING BACK!_ was his only panicked thought as he could feel the force of every single blow from Masamune, jolting his tired muscles and knocking him back a few steps.

_I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die…_ The look in Sephiroth's eyes wasn't nearly as friendly anymore; rather, he looked like a predator, ready to kill.

He had several cuts all over his body now from slipping in his guard of Masamune's singing blade, and sweat kept getting into his eyes. Sephiroth however, wasn't stopping in his relentless assault, so he never had any time to pull out another blade, just keep himself from being completely injured. Cloud's muscles finally gave in and Masamune swung down and impaled itself in his left leg causing him to stumble backwards and hit the wall, only staying up through sheer force of will. The blade slid out of his leg and instead rested its tip on his throat. He looked down the shaft up at the cold eyes on the General, who was glaring down at him.

"Yield." he said, emotionless, not a single flicker of an expression giving away his current thoughts. Cloud had no qualms about dropping his sword to the floor, making a clattering noise that echoed throughout the room.

There was a slight smile to Sephiroth's lips as he pulled his sword away, and Cloud slid down the wall until he was sitting, his vision going blurry. All around him, the room erupted in noise, but the only thing he could think of as his vision faded was the General's cold, cold eyes.

* * *

_Cosmo Canyon is a wondrous place and I had the fortune of visiting it once in my travels. They have so much knowledge of the Planet and Lifestream there, it's unbelievable. It helped me so much in my studies of the Cetra and their connection to the readings I keep finding in these various books, though many questions still remain._

_After all, I have one passage to this day I still have not figured out; they speak of WEAPONS of the Planet, gigantic creatures born of the Lifestream to protect it from any that wishes it harm, but they're all described as monstrous._

_This one describes a WEAPON borne as a human. I did not know this was possible, but the Cetra obviously believed in it. This book, this storybook always referenced them as the Golden People, and that this WEAPON, the Golden WEAPON, was their own. One borne of hope and salvation as it is so put._

_'The Golden Weapon, borne on the wings of his Crimson herald, will one day reveal himself to the world and save it from the Calamity's wrath. Or at least we hope this is true.'_

_-from the files of Uther Strife_

_Regarding The Golden Weapon_


	22. Jenova's Cradle

Cloud didn't know where he expected to wake up, but in the infirmary with the man who put him there was not one of them. He nearly gave a shout at Sephiroth's looming face, but the General did not seemed to be bothered by his sudden movement.

"I would not move as much as you can," Sephiroth held up his hand over Cloud's body, actually hesitating to touch him. Pain shot through his twisted muscles and he slumped back onto the bed, instinctively shifting away from the General. The last memory he had of the man was of him trying to impale Cloud against the wall, so he didn't know how to react.

A strange expression flitted over Sephiroth's passive face as Cloud cringed away, and he stood up from his bedside. "I'm sorry to have woken you."

When the blonde cadet didn't respond, the General stood there, almost awkwardly, as if he did not know what to say. "I apologize for getting carried away. My only intention was to see if you were worthy of becoming a SOLDIER…"

"And?" Cloud managed to croak out. His throat felt a bit like sandpaper, but at least he could talk.

"You passed remarkably." Sephiroth nodded, his silver hair spilling over his shoulder. If Cloud looked closely, he could see a few strands on the right side of his face were shorter than the rest, a testament to the battle he had.

_It wasn't all a dream then…_ Cloud attempted to move again, but his arms hurt horribly with each motion. "I don't feel like I've passed."

"There were some consequences of our duel together, but it does not matter now that you are SOLDIER," Sephiroth said calmly, too calmly for what happened.

"Why did you attack me like that?" he asked, careful not to move his arms again. There it was, the strange expression again, lasting only a second on his otherwise cold features…The cat-like eyes flicked away from his face.

"I finally saw you as a threat. As it was, I underestimated you." The General's smooth voice cut through Cloud's haze of confusion and he blinked owlishly.

"You what? I mean..that's why you want to fight me? Why did you want to fight me?"

"Your opponent was not worthy of your skills. Only I was."

Cloud kept staring up at Sephiroth, utterly lost to the man's mind-frame. "You think I'm…worthy?"

"Yes. Are you surprised? I am glad you will become a SOLDIER," Sephiroth said, his face still frozen. He thought that was what was unnerving him; Sephiroth spoke these words but his face did not say whether he was lying or not. Cloud supposed the General didn't really know how to react to people because of his upbringing, but it was still weird.

His hero…his hero thought he was worthy. Cloud was torn between two feelings of elation and terror. One one hand, Sephiroth had took him so seriously he'd nearly killed him, but on the other had, he'd done it because he thought Cloud could handle it. "I…"

"You have passed the test to become a SOLDIER. However, because of your injuries you will need to stay in the infirmary until you get your enhancements. Welcome to the force." Cloud had a feeling Sephiroth would've offered his hand had he not spent the last five minutes scared of the General's presence.

_Wait, is he actually feeling guilty for hurting me?_

"I'm..it was an honor fighting you, sir, even if it ended like this," Cloud said truthfully, clutching the edges of his blanket. He'd felt the thrill of battle like no other fighting the man, and knowing he'd done it not to toy with him, but actually to test the cadet's skills warmed his heart, despite the General's terrifying aura.

If he had looked closely, he could've sworn he saw a slight smile curve on Sephiroth's lips at that statement. Instead, Cloud's eyes caught on a faintly forming bruise underneath the General's right eye.

"Um…" The cadet asked, pointing at it. He was fairly certain that he'd not done that much damage.

"The puppy was very upset I hurt his beloved student." This time Sephiroth really did smirk and Cloud almost smiled back. "I assured him it will not happen on purpose again unless his student allows it."

Picturing Zack actually punching Sephiroth in the face was enough of an amusing mental image that Cloud finally smiled, despite the pain and confusion.  _What I would've paid to see that…I'll have to ask him about that later._

"Here." Sephiroth's hand reached out and Cloud once again flinched away before it dropped something onto his lap. Confused, the now-SOLDIER glanced down only to find a lock of silver hair, tied with a knot in the center: the same he'd cut off of the General's head. "Think of it like a trophy, I suppose."

Cloud stared at him, confused. Did Sephiroth just give him a lock of his hair? Perhaps that was his way of being nice, since he didn't seem to have any social skills to speak of, and coming from Cloud, that was saying something. Fingering the silver strands, he kept mulling over the enigma in his head until the rest of the calvary arrived.

* * *

Zack and his couple of friends had been held back by the staff so they could explain the situation to Cloud, whose heart sank with each word from their mouths.

His duel with Sephiroth had taken a terrible toll on his body; the wound on his leg was actually minor compared to the rest of his injuries. The blade was thin and did not twist in his leg, so it was a clean cut, but the rest of him was another story. Blocking all those blows had caused stress fractures in his arm bones along with tearing of the muscles, and if it wasn't for his SOLDIER enhancements in a day or so, the doctors were unsure if he'd gain back all of his strength. It was mostly his arms that were affected, though he shouldn't be walking on his leg either.

Cloud, finally having sat up fully, stared down at his nearly ruined arms. He'd come so close to losing his dream because of the General, just by defending himself. It didn't matter how strong his spirit was if his body could not keep up and once again, he wished he could be just as Zack or Sephiroth was. It had partly been the General's fault, but Cloud couldn't help but believe he couldn't keep up.

That was no matter. By this time tomorrow, he would be a SOLDIER. A real one, and not just in his dreams. And he could help Zack protect everyone and finally be a hero.

As if on cue, said puppy burst into the room, followed by Rin and Seth who were thankfully much less enthusiastic.

"Ow, ow OW ZACK, SHIVA LET GO OF ME!" He yelled, the SOLDIER's hug sending shooting pain down his arms and the rest of his body. Zack immediately backed away, patting Cloud on the head and apologizing profusely.

"Dear sweet Goddess, Cloud I'm so sorry! I keep doing that and I just wanted to say YOU'RE A SOLDIER NOW!" Zack jumped up and down, his fists pumping in the air. Cloud laughed—his mentor seemed to be more excited about the prospect than he was, but now that Zack had said it out loud, it began to sink in.

"I really am?" Cloud asked, his smile almost splitting his face. His two normal friends answered that question instead.

"Yeah, Cloud, you were amazing! Everyone thought you were dead once Sephiroth himself said that he'd fight you but holy crap, you actually cut his hair!" Rin was jumping up in down, in contrast to his more subdued younger brother.

"You're the talk of the whole program, not that you weren't before. They were doubting Zack's judgement but now everyone's scrambling to get on his and your good side," Seth added on. Cloud nearly had to laugh at the idea of people actually fighting over him. This was all almost a dream come true, everything just felt so distant and surreal.

"Doubting my judgement, my ass," Zack grumbled, looking deflated as a kicked puppy. "I TOLD them you were great but did they listen? No."

"Well, my arms are torn to shreds, but it was apparently worth it," Cloud joked, feeling elated and floating on air. That wasn't the best thing to say, because Zack's eyes immediately grew round and huge and he lifted one of said arms up to examine it closely.

"No! But you're gonna be SOLDIER, you can't be injured! Oh Goddess, if I had known, I wouldn't have hugged you!" Zack said frantically, and Cloud tried not to wince from the movement of his limb.

"I think Sephiroth got the idea not to do it again. I saw the bruise you gave him on his face," Cloud said.

"If it were up to me I'd give him another one! That jackass…" Zack was growling threats to himself and he almost choked on his own spit, seeing his friend like that. Rin and Seth didn't know what to make of it either, just flashing their gaze between the two SOLDIERs.

"Oh right, how did your tests go?" Cloud asked the two brothers, guilty he'd been ignoring them.

"We both passed, probably thanks to you in the field exercise." Both Seth and Rin gave each other a high-five then held their hands out to Cloud, who declined their excitement.

"I think I'll pass on celebrating until after I get my enhancements," he sighed, feeling the twinges of pain through his arms.

"Ahh, sorry, dude. I'll hold you to that promise, though. After we get enhancements, okay?" Rin said, clapping Cloud on the shoulder and he smiled, nodding.

"It's a promise then. You're gonna come to, right Zack?" The blonde SOLDIER asked his friend, who was still sulking a bit in the corner.

"Please, I wouldn't miss it for the world! My wonderful student has achieved his dream of being a SOLDIER, why would I? Just don't let Reno get you drunk," Zack said, staring pointedly back at Cloud.

"Oh right, Reno said he'd be over soon, but told me to tell you he had to go deal with something important first," Seth said, leaving Cloud confused again. What was so important that Reno had to take care of it? Was it something with Hojo?

He didn't have much time to think about it before Zack's loud voice interrupted his thoughts again. "You're gonna be SOLDIER, oh man, I can't wait to finally teach you all the stuff I've been holding back! You can even wield a Buster Sword if you want to!" Zack crowed, and it was just then that Cloud noticed Angeal's famed sword on his friend's back, and it certainly hadn't been there before.

"Where did you get that?!"

"Oh…Angeal gave it to me…" Zack said, suddenly subdued and he could see his two friends looking at the first class with pity. Oh Goddess, had he really…

_Was Angeal dead?_ Cloud tried to ask Zack silently, and he got an almost imperceptible shake of the head. Relieved, he slumped back slightly. He would've been horribly upset if something had happened to the larger man, but he seemed to be okay. Zack still seemed downtrodden about it though, so it was obvious something happened.  _I'll just ask him later when Rin and Seth aren't around._

"I see. It'll be okay," Cloud promised, hoping that would make sense, and Zack seemed to brighten up again.

"Do you know when you're getting your enhancements, Cloud?" Seth asked, trying to change the subject.

"They said I'd be staying in here until I get them, so I'm hoping like tomorrow or something," he answered, rolling his eyes. The less time he spent in the hospital the better.

"Normally it takes like a week or so to get enhancements through the red tape, but you're a special case," Zack said. "Because of your injuries, you're getting them early so you can heal fully. And because you're friends with the General."

Rin and Seth both grumbled that Cloud was lucky, since they were the ones who had to wait, but the blonde was unsure. It felt like more special treatment and he didn't like the idea of that. Then again, with arms torn to shreds like this, the sooner he got the super-enhanced healing of SOLDIER, the better.

"Sounds okay to me, but won't I have to see….Hojo?" With the stress of the exams, he'd completely forgotten about the mad scientist and his weird fixation on Cloud, and now he shuddered. Zack rushed to reassure him.

"Don't worry, me and Reno will be here the entire time! Nothing terrible will happen," Zack said, smiling as he knelt down next to the bed. His gaze cast a silent promise of  _don't worry, we won't let Hojo touch you,_ and Cloud felt better.

The three of them stayed with him for awhile longer, as an almost impromptu celebration for making the cut, laughing and joking about the other funny stories they'd heard about the exams. Rin and Seth shared some details he'd missed from the ending ceremony, being knocked out and all, while Zack just made comments on some of the other SOLDIERs getting beat up by the cadets.

Too soon though, the three of them had to leave, and Cloud was left sitting alone in the infirmary with little more to do than read the book his father had commented on.

Looking back, Cloud wished he could have savored the warmth of those smiles he got; it was a very long time before he could ever smile again.

* * *

Turk privileges included the fact that Reno could call up Angeal with relatively little suspicion. He supposed it was also a privilege of being a double agent for Hojo, but the red-head didn't want to think of that man right now. Being dragged down to the lab and questioned again was not the way he wanted to start the morning, and being forced to go call Angeal to 'check up on him' was not the way he wanted to spend his day, but he had no choice.

Reno really wanted to go see how Cloud was doing in the infirmary before he got his enhancements, but instead he was stuck on this duty. Either way, the defected SOLDIER had told them to keep in touch, he just needed to let loose everything he was saying would be wired back to one mad scientist in a lab.

"Hello?" Oh thank god, Angeal actually picked up.

"Yo, friendly neighborhood Turk contactin' you for a status report!" He said with false cheerfulness, and he could almost hear Angeal's sigh from the other end.

"So they told you to talk to me? Not Sephiroth or Zack?" Angeal's voice was crackling due to the bad connection.

"Hey, hey, no need to be ungrateful. I know you'd rather talk to your friend or the puppy, but they ain't available right now, so you're stuck with me." Reno bit his lip. Well, with him and Hojo, but how to tell him about that?

"Hmm. What are they detained with?"

"Well, Cloudy passed his SOLDIER tests so the two of them are tryin' to be there for him so nothin' bad happens when he gets his enhancements. Like him freakin' out and punchin' holes in the wall or something."  _Or Hojo trying anything fishy._

_"_ Oh he did? That's good to hear! How has his training gone?" Angeal sounded excited again, and Reno heard the invisible questions in his statements.

"You know, Zack's pushin' him hard, but he's doin' real well cause of it. The whole department is in a flurry of excitement cause they weren't expectin' a rookie like 'im to be this good an' actually go toe to toe with the General of all people-" He mentally kicked himself. He wasn't supposed to mention that!

"He what?"

"Final test. Hafta fight a second or first SOLDIER. Sephiroth volunteered, kinda hurt the kid some. No but Zack already took care of it, believe me!" Reno said hurriedly, hearing Angeal suck in a breath. "Don't need anymore trouble, yo!"

There was still a little bit of worrisome silence from the other end, along with what sounded like some scrabbling and Angeal speaking to someone in the distance. "Sorry. My companion was having some issues. And he better, or I will have some words to say to him."

"Don't doubt it," Reno muttered, before getting back on task. "You know that thing you we were talkin' about in the basement of the mansion? The office? Yeah, well…how's Genesis?"

Angeal seemed confused about the question, as the incident he mentioned was unrelated to his friend, but the red-head waited until the gil dropped.

"Oh. Oh. Genesis is…I haven't found him yet," Angeal said, and Reno knew he was lying through his was teeth.

"Really? Bummer, cause last thing I know he was searchin' for Jenova. I'm guessin' you don't have any hints where that crazy piece of shit is either, huh." To be fair, Hojo didn't either, hence the reason he was so desperate to find Genesis.

"I've heard nothing, and since you're contacting me, I'm thinking its not very successful on your end either."

"No. The only thing that happened is Cloud's test. We're still waiting."

"I see. Then tell everyone to stay safe, especially Cloud and Zack. I don't want anything happening to them," Angeal said.

"I'm all over it," Reno replied truthfully, and the other man hung up immediately. Reno kept staring at the slowly blinking phone for a few more moments, before pocketing it and heading out. He couldn't help the shiver that went down his spine; something bad was going to happen, he just knew it.

* * *

"Your call cannot be forwarded at this time."

Sephiroth nearly crushed the phone in his hand, but he'd had to get it replaced once already, and loathed to waste technology like that.

_Why won't he pick up? He told me all I know about my humanity and my real mother, and yet he does not answer when I summon him!_ Sephiroth had been calling Vincent Valentine constantly throughout the day, but the man had not answered. He could chalk it off to him not knowing how to use one, since he'd encountered first hand the retired Turk's loathing of the technology, but he had promised to keep in contact.

It wasn't that he wanted to know where Vincent was; he would tell them when it was necessary. Rather, for the first time in a long, Sephiroth wanted to talk with someone. Angeal couldn't fulfill, as he was no longer with Shinra, and with Vincent out of the picture, there was no one left. Zack was eliminated as well, for he would just get angry at the General all over again. No, he was truly alone in this.

It was Cloud. That infuriating blonde boy who had found his fancy and refused to leave. How he, the General could be so enamored with the cadet he refused to have anyone else battle him, Sephiroth didn't know, but it was far too late for him to pull out.

And what a fight it was. Sephiroth had, of course, been holding back, but it seemed to have triggered Cloud's anger and done something that very few people could brag they accomplished: surprising him. It had ended with a lock of hair shorn from his head and in his anger, Sephiroth may have let go a little to much. He had thought the boy could handle it, but humans were far more fragile than he remembered.

_So does that make me a monster?_ He asked himself, staring down at his hand and slowly clenching it. According to the information he had found in the mansion's library he was, despite Angeal and Zack's insistence otherwise. It was only Vincent's soft words about how he was once human and lied to by Hojo that had kept him from burning that twisted place to the ground.

And Cloud. He could not discount the effect the trooper had had on him in that place. Somehow he felt calmer just being around him. Cloud's presence was quiet and respectful, and yet brimming with an energy yet to be unleashed, and for some reason, the General wanted to shape it and make it grow. Perhaps this was the reason Zack and Angeal had taken such a liking to him.

However, the mystery of Cloud wouldn't be solved by him sitting around and becoming introspective.  _I'll turn into Genesis at that rate. All I need to do is start quoting LOVELESS…_

Amusing himself with this mental image, he finally left his office to go assure himself he wasn't a monster with the people who had possibly proved him wrong.

* * *

To say that Cloud was nervous was an understatement. Shaking with terror and quietly screaming on the inside was more like it, really. True to what the doctor said, he was to be receiving his mako enhancements a week early due to his injuries, but it also meant he was probably going to be spending the next week in the infirmary adjusting.

Mako injections were given to the newly christened third classes, the full tanks only reserved for those the scientists were sure wouldn't reject the treatment and waste precious resources. So, until further notice, Cloud was stuck sitting in bed with arms that were almost less than useless, with nothing to read but a storybook.

Not that it wasn't entertaining; he wanted to bring this book up next meeting since so many of the passages were scarily accurate to things he had learned or situations that had already happened; he briefly wondered if Genesis knew about the connection between the Tale of Three Brothers and LOVELESS but that wasn't important right now.

He was just reading about The Honored Hero, a boy raised by the Wanderer who had inherited his will to save fallen angels from their death with Zack Fair himself entered the room. Shaking away weird deja vu, he tried to smile at his friend, but it came out as a grimace instead.

A warm embrace wrapped around him. "It'll be fine, spiky, I promise. I'll be with you this whole time, and so will Seph!"

Cloud involuntarily flinched when Zack said that name, and said General walked into the room, unfathomable as ever. He had against his better judgement kept the lock of hair Sephiroth had gave him almost as a good luck charm, as he still could not tell the man's motivations. Cloud steeled himself by remembering the General thought he was worthy, and pushed Zack away.

"I'll be fine. Where is Reno?" He asked, trying to draw away attention from himself.

"Reno couldn't make it, unfortunately, but he said he will certainly visit you later." Sephiroth for some reason answered this question and Cloud nodded slowly. His shaking limbs must've betrayed how nervous he still was, though, for he saw a flash of pity in the General's eyes.

"I see."

"It'll be okay, Cloud! You'll be fine, and we'll be right here, in case anything…happens. You know! You can count on me!" Zack said, bouncing up and down, trying to cheer him up. Cloud couldn't even smile for his friend, but he nodded anyway.

"Cloud Strife?" A doctor stuck her head out of the room joining to his own. "We're ready."

He swallowed and took a deep breath, forcing his trembling legs to move. "Okay, here we go."

Zack gave him a quick smile and a thumbs up and Sephiroth nodded his head slightly as he walked over to the door. Opening it, he found himself in a small room with nothing but a table in the middle and a few counters covered with various medical equipment.

Edging himself up onto the seat, he looked around the room as the doctor took his blood pressure, along with a few various tests to make sure he was in fit condition. After answering a few questions about his mental state and signing a sheet that said 'Shinra was not liable for any injuries or reactions cause by the injection of mako', he was ready to go.

"Left or right handed?" She asked him.

"Um, right-handed." He looked down at the arm, covered in a medical robe thing. He never remembered their official names.

"Okay. We'll give you the injection in that shoulder to minimize the aching and allow blood to flow faster. When you get it, side effects manifest in about ten to twenty minutes and can include, but are not limited to, nausea, stomach pain, headache, change in vision, extreme sensitivity to light and sound, slight hallucinations, fever, itching and burning sensation, trembling, coughing, and excessive sweating. It should die down by the end of the day and if it doesn't let us know, okay?" The doctor rattled off and smiled, probably trying to reassure him. "If those people out there are with you, you should be fine. I'll go call for Dr. Hojo now."

She left and so did all of Cloud's confidence at hearing all the symptoms. The room seemed big and empty and every breath he let out echoed in his ears until he could barely stand it anymore. Being alone in the room with Hojo…he had to keep faith in Zack and Sephiroth. The crazy man wouldn't try anything while the General was watching like a hawk, would he? And he could survive this. He was strong. He'd promised Tifa and his mother and Zack that he would do this so he could. Cloud was stronger than some stupid needle.

He still nearly fell on the floor when the door was flung open and Professor Hojo in all of his terrible glory walked in. Cloud tensed up, expecting comments on how he wasn't wearing his arm band anymore or some other creepy shit but Hojo didn't even look at him as he set out a pair of needles and prepped them. One was filed with a glowing green substance—obviously Mako—and the other one was odd and held a black sludge. He forced down a shudder and sat patiently on the bed, kicking at the side of the examination table.

"Stop fidgeting and roll up your sleeve!" Hojo barked, causing Cloud to freeze in his tracks and comply immediately. He did not want to get on the Professor's bad side. Despite the pain it caused him, he pushed up the sleeve on his right arm until his shoulder was exposed, trying not to make a audible noise when he spotted the needle.

Hojo kept being silent, which was really freaking him out. Cloud had expected him to be all up in the blonde's face about the mysteriously vanishing arm band, but he almost preferred the yelling version to this.

Without a word, Hojo jabbed the needle into his vein, pushing the plunger, causing the glowing liquid to slowly filter into his blood. Cloud involuntarily yelped at the sudden pain of the injection as well as the strange, cold sensation that was flowing down his arm and into his body.

"Hm. Did that hurt?" Hojo asked suddenly, and caught off guard, Cloud nodded. Not saying another world, the Professor turned back and grabbed the other needle, filled with the black sludge. Ignoring the tingling in his fingers, the blonde SOLDIER kept his eyes focused on the needle coming nearer and nearer to him. He did not like the look of that stuff.

This time, the needle was inserted much more carefully and was nearly painless. Cloud stared at the top of Hojo's head, surprised and more than a little weirded out. This man was not known for his kindness towards humanity.

A little while later and the syringe was empty, so he pushed himself off onto the floor to get out before he passed out or something. All of a sudden, a wiry hand shot out and latched itself around his arm, holding him tight. Cloud's senses went on high alert and he was aware of his heart beating fast, the feel of fabric on his skin, the smell of cleaner and antiseptic, and he was sure it wasn't just the mako coursing through his veins.

"Don't think you can run away, boy." Hojo sneered and let go, and Cloud never exited from a room faster.

* * *

"Are you okay Cloud? Come on, speak to me!" Zack had knelt down to where the blonde SOLDIER was now seated on his original bed, breathing heavily. When he had come crashing in, both of the first classes had been startled, reaching out to catch him and ask what was wrong.

"Yeah, I'm fine, and I don't think he did anything to me, just you know…scary…" Cloud said, staring down at the fabric covering his knees. "I think he threatened me a little."

Sephiroth made a noise at this, his gaze burning a hole into the wall. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"That I can't run, I don't know. Something. Can we please not talk about this now?" Cloud asked, wiping at his eyes. For some reason, he felt really warm and sweaty, and he wanted to take his shirt off. Zack's face softened when he saw the obvious distress his student was in and soothingly rubbed his shoulders.

"It's okay, Cloud. Everyone feels really terrible their first injection. I know I did, but the important thing is, the feeling passes. It feels kinda like the flu," Zack said reassuringly. Cloud desperately did want to believe him, but he couldn't make the nagging voice in his head, whispering he was going to die, go away. He hated anything medical; it always gave him horrible anxiety when he was a child. His stomach was doing full twists and he wasn't totally sure he was going to be able to keep his meager breakfast down.

Cloud blinked a few times, everything falling into really sharp focus. The light was kind of hurting his eyes and giving him a headache, but luckily they were dimmed for just this occasion.

"How're you feeling?" Zack asked gently, keeping on hand on his friends back.

"I feel…like I'm gonna be sick!" Cloud rushed over to the adjoining bathroom and promptly threw up everything he had eaten and probably a little bit more than that. The last time he felt this sick was when he'd gotten a stomach bug from drinking spoiled milk. Staying near the toilet for a little bit to make sure he wouldn't continue, he spat into the water and flushed. His limbs were weak and he was surprised he made it out of the bathroom, but luckily Zack was right there to help him. "Sorry…and thanks."

"No problem, and believe me, I've seen worse. I've FELT worse." Zack laughed, probably trying to cheer the blonde up, but he didn't think anything could. Cloud was about to flop down onto the bed and never move again, but he was stopped by a very unexpected hand from Sephiroth himself.

"Cloud! Your eyes!" The new SOLDIER stared blearily up at the General, wondering why he was looking upon Cloud with such a horrified face. One glance at a mirror on the nightstand solved all of that, as the blonde saw two cat-slit eyes—Sephiroth's eyes—staring straight back up at him.

The mirror fell to the ground in a crash as another heat flash took over him, causing his vision to go blurry and his heard to pound in his chest. Cloud swore he could hear voices, distant voices in his head shouting at him to go do something, but he was confused as to what they wanted.

"Cloud. Cloud! Are you okay?" He heard Zack calling, but he could barely concentrate. The green like in his dreams was all around him, but it wasn't comforting and friendly like when Aerith was with him. Rather, it was raging through his veins, burning him up and filling him with an anger deep in his bones.

He turned towards his two companions, only to be greeted by a terrible sight. The two SOLDIERs were still standing normally, but Sephiroth had black liquid dripping out of his eyes- _his horrible eyes!_ -and an oily black wing ripped out from his shoulder, the feathers covered in blood. Zack was soaked in it too, though he had no dripping sludge; rather, it was poured at his feet, making a squelching noise every time Zack moved.

Cloud covered his mouth with his hands, but there was nothing for him to throw up. He closed his eyes tight and opened them again, but the sludge and blood and wing were still there, only growing worse. It was dripping from Sephiroth's mouth now, and he wanted to do something, anything to tell the General about the disgusting black stuff that was oozing from him, but his voice and body was frozen.

Zack said something—his mouth moved and he reached towards him, but Cloud took one look at that blood-covered hand and screamed, running to the other side of the room to escape the images. His limbs were shaking so badly he could barely move in a coordinated manner and his head was pounding with the voices that kept shouting at him.

Blinking slowly, Cloud spotted a sword lying on the table beside him. Without questioning why it was there, he reached out and grabbed it, lunging straight for Sephiroth.

* * *

Zack knew something had gone terribly wrong when Cloud took one look at him and screamed bloody murder. It was confirmed when the blonde seized a scalpel lying in a box on the table and lunged at Sephiroth, yelling inarticulately.

"Seph!" He jumped in front of the General, grabbing Cloud and getting a slash to the face. The boy's skin was warm to the touch and up-close, he could see just how sick his student was. Cloud's eyes were unfocused and dilated, the mako blue creeping over and adding a glow to the iris, and every bone in his body seemed to rattle. "I think he's hallucinating!"

"I've noticed this!" Sephiroth said angrily, having taken a step backwards from the attack. "Is it the mako?!"

"I don't know but holy fuck, he's strong!" Right as Zack said that, Cloud ripped himself from the SOLDIER's grip, lunging again for Sephiroth.

"Jenova's Cradle must die!" Cloud yelled again, the blade sweeping through the air and wildly missing as the General dodged his blows.

"Jenova's cradle? The fuck is he talking about?!" Zack asked, dancing around on the edge. He wanted to get in and help Cloud, but any wrong move could have the blonde hurting himself, since he still had no idea how to use enhancements.

"I'll call for medical, you distract him," The General ordered, and Zack gently stepped up behind him. As he moved, Cloud whirled around, blade at the ready. The first class nearly choked; the boy's eyes were no longer human, but covered in a glowing blue haze. "Jenova…all who bear her soul must be saved, and Her Cradle destroyed."

"That's uh, nice Cloud, but you gotta hand me that blade in your hand, okay? Then we can talk about this whole Jenova thing." Zack was freaking out, though he kept his voice steady and calm. Why was Cloud speaking of Jenova now of all times? Just what had Hojo given him?

Cloud's face was blank almost robotic as Zack slowly moved towards him and took the scalpel out of his hands. Now that Sephiroth had left the room, it seemed the trigger for his violence had vanished, so the blonde SOLDIER was just standing there, frozen.

He tucked it away in a pocket and then turned back to his friend. "Okay, now, do you want to tell me what's going on, Cloud?"

The blonde didn't respond for a few seconds, but merely stared straight at Zack's face until a few tears dripped out of his eyes. "Why are you covered in blood? Why are you dying? You aren't supposed to die….Don't leave me!"

Zack's heart twisted and he nearly started tearing up himself, but he had to stay strong. "I'm not, Cloud. I'm right here and I'm staying here. The blood you see isn't real. None of it is."

"There's so much! I need to…need to…don't want anyone to die…." Cloud's focus faded and he stumbled backwards, knocking over the nightstand. Zack jumped forward to help his friend, but the smaller boy pushed him away.

"No! Stay away…there's something dangerous around here." Cloud looked around, as if something were chasing them. "I can sense Her near."

Now Zack was just confused. Who was this her he was talking about? It caused him to pause a moment and a moment was all Cloud needed to look down at his own chest in horror. "She is inside of me!"

"Cloud no, don't-" Zack screamed, but his friend had already sunk his strong nails into his skin and began ripping at his chest. He could see the blood blossoming in thick red lines, staining his finger tips and getting all over his clothes, but Zack didn't care. All he cared about was getting Cloud to stop clawing and destroying his own chest.

"Stop, please stop, Cloud, please, please PLEASE! Cloud, please listen to me!" He kept crying as he seized his friend's wrists to stop him from attacking himself. Cloud however, was completely delirious at this point and twisting in his grip, screaming out that she was inside of him, there was something inside of him and he needed to get it out, that Zack didn't understand. The blonde's legs were flailing and he was briefly glad that the doctors had taken his shoes away before nearly hauling him up bodily and pinning him against the wall.

"Cloud, calm down. You're scaring me! Please stop! There's nothing wrong with you and you're not in danger!" Zack nearly sobbed, working to keep his grip on the madly twisting SOLDIER beneath him. Cloud was crying now, tears pouring unchecked out of his eyes, still whispering about how there was something inside of him and it was eating him alive.

Sephiroth couldn't have come at a better time; he and the medical personnel took one look at the blood that covered both of them and seized hold of Cloud, who started flailing and putting up a racket when Zack was no longer the one who was holding him.

"DON'T HURT HIM!" He cried as they dragged him off to another room, presumably to sedate him. Sephiroth had to hold him back from following as Cloud's cries grew fainter and eventually stopped.

"What happened?" The silver-haired General asked, almost gently.

"I..I don't know! I got the blade from him and he just started screaming that something was inside of him and he tried to rip himself apart! Oh goddess, what the hell is going on? What did Hojo do?"

Zack finally cracked and started crying as the General, not knowing what else to do, wrapped him in a hug. "I'm afraid I don't know either."

 


	23. Mordred's Lullaby

Cosmo Canyon was a very strange place to Vincent. He'd never been somewhere so full of life and vigor, and Chaos stirred once again inside his soul. Perhaps here, he could find the answers he so desperately sought, in a place close to the Lifestream.

Nanaki led them up the winding path, along the side of the cliff that connected through several houses, to where his grandfather resided. They passed silently by the other residents, who gave the strange duo most of their attention. Vincent, by now mostly used to this, ignored them.

"My grandfather is up in here," Nanaki said, his flaming tail swishing as he stopped in front of a large observatory perched upon the red rock. Vincent's heightened senses scanned the building for signs of life, but found nothing. Cait Sith was being more silent than usual, and the retired Turk suspected that Reeve Tuesti had taken over control.

"The rocks are so red because of the iron in the soil," A voice said behind him and Vincent spun, his gun drawn, only to meet an old man. He was very curious-looking, not only being human but also in the fact he was floating a few feet off the ground. He sensed no animosity from the man, which caused him to stay his weapon, but as to who he was…

"Grandfather!" Nanaki shouted, and bounded over to the floating man.  _But they aren't the same species…_

"I can see by your face you are confused. I will explain. I am Bugenhagen, the leader of Cosmo Canyon. I adopted Nanaki here after his parents disappeared" The old man smiled down at the lion, who had sat down on his haunches in front of him. "Can I help you with something?"

Vincent did not speak, not sure if he trusted this Bugenhagen with his secrets. The name even sounded familiar to him, but luckily, Cait Sith took up the slack. "We're here t' hear 'bout th' Planet and its WEAPONS!"

"A talking cat, hmm? Advances in technology never cease to amaze me. Come on. I have a feeling I know what you will ask me about." Bugenhagen turned and floated up to the door of the observatory, Nanaki following in his proverbial footsteps. Vincent and Cait Sith followed, each hoping for their own answers.

* * *

It was a solemn night in the infirmary for Sephiroth and Zack, keeping vigil for Cloud's condition. It was only a couple hours later they were able to see him, but to the young first class, it felt like ages. As soon as the doctor gave the say so, Zack rushed into Cloud's room and attached himself to the bed. Looking down at the blonde, his heart twisted.

The bandages that covered Cloud's chest were slightly red-though the doctors assured there was no permanent damage-and his wrists were tied down to stop himself from causing further damage. Zack reached out a hand to try and pat Cloud on the head like he normally did, only to draw back when his friend muttered something underneath his breath.

"What happened, Cloud? What's going on with you…" Zack asked, slumping down into a chair next to the bed. He'd known for awhile about Cloud's emotional problems, but to have them extend this far?

_It's just the mako talking, that's it. He just had a bad reaction…_ Zack clasped his hands together like he'd seen Aerith do many times, like it could help his shivering friend somehow.

"What happened to you?" He repeated, but Cloud wasn't hearing him. The blonde SOLDIER merely strained against his bonds, half-delirious from the mako and the drugs he'd been given. Sephiroth was stood some distance away, seemingly unconcerned, but Zack knew better.

"Do you know anything?" He asked the General, who looked thoughtful in response.

"He…attacked me. And mentioned Jenova while he was doing. And he also said you were dying," Sephiroth said.

Zack slipped his hand over the railing of the bed to rest on Cloud's gently rising chest, to assure both of them he was still alive. "How can you be so calm about this? Did you see how scared he was?!"

"I am calm because one of us needs to be!" Sephiroth said sharply, then lowered his voice as Zack winced. "I know this is Hojo's doing and I am disgusted. But the only reason I have not broken my control right now is because of him."

Zack merely glanced up at the General, his eyes bloodshot. "What?"

"I cannot act now without putting him in danger." Sephiroth's face twisted in an almost strange way, as if it were trying to shift to an expression he'd never used before. "He showed me…I have to protect my friends. And I do not have many anymore."

"Yeah…" Zack whispered, his thoughts lingering back to the Buster Sword safely by his side. His honor and dreams were passed down but it was such a heavy burden to bear. "But what did Hojo do? I don't understand what's going on."

"I'm done waiting for answers. After Cloud is recovered and able-bodied, I will take this up to the top," Sephiroth said, a note of deadly steel in his voice, and Zack inwardly shivered.

"Mind if I stay here with him?" He asked, his voice husky.

"Go ahead. I will call Vincent." With a quick turn of the heel, Sephiroth was gone, leaving Zack with Cloud's prone body and the beeping of the machine hooked up to him. Turning back, the first class was appalled to see the blonde's face soaked with sweat and muttering up a storm.

"Shhh, Cloud, it's okay, I'm right here," Zack soothed, touching him on the forehead. Sure enough, he was burning up, but Cloud seemed to quiet down whenever Zack was touching him. Perhaps he was really afraid that the first class would vanish? Well, it wasn't like he was going anywhere soon. Wiping a few of his hairs away from his eyes, Zack rested his hand against Cloud's bandaged chest again, closing his eyes. "It's fine Cloud, I'll always be here."

* * *

"You wish to know about the WEAPONs of the Planet, I believe?" Buganhagen asked, turning back to the strange duo, once they were inside the observatory. The old man was still floating in midair on his seat, which Vincent figured probably had materia attached to it to be able to do that.

"Well, my scowling friend here wants tae know 'bout that, an' I'm jus' along for th' ride!" Cait Sith said, finally off of his moogle mount. Vincent characteristically, said nothing. Despite Nanaki's assurances, he was having a hard time trusting anyone with this knowledge.

"I can sense him inside of you, Mr. Valentine," Bugenhagen said, his old eyes boring into the Turk's own. They had all introduced themselves earlier, the old man making no reaction to the once legendary Turk being brought back from the dead.

"Who, Chaos?"

"Yes. There was much research done into it-him, and how he was connected to a WEAPON called Omega, but I'm sure you already know this." Bugenhagen floated down a little lower, level with Nanaki now.

Vincent did recall Lucrecia and Hojo talking over about something like that, but he never had quite understood everything, not being a scientist such as them. The old man continued. "Shinra is interested in anything related to mako, believing they could find a way to take them to the Promised Land. And so, research into the WEAPONS began, for what are WEAPONs but creatures born of the Lifestream's wrath?"

"So what is Chaos then?" Vincent asked abruptly, tried of this pandering around. He could feel the demon stirring and rising up inside of his soul, and he knew the answer was so close. This was the answer.

Bugenhagen laughed. "Patience, young man, though I'm not sure if you can be called that, sleeping as long as you have. Chaos, indeed, is connected to these WEAPONs but looking into the Cetra as they did, Shinra discovered he was not one of them. Rather, a xeno-form of the Planet. A herald, to Omega."

Vincent blinked, and even Cait Sith made a surprised noise, for neither of them knew what to make of that. He'd known Chaos was special compared to his other beasts, but connected to the Lifestream?

"A herald?"

"Yes. Chaos is the one who controls Omega, or so I understand. Omega is the end of the world, and Chaos is the one that brings it about, borne as he was out of the bubbling chaos and darkness of human hearts. Hence, his name. It was written by the Cetra," Bugenhagen said, so calmly that even Vincent was perturbed.

A herald? He himself was a WEAPON of the Planet? But as Lucrecia had researched, they were almost always beasts of incomprehensible power and size. Not human.

"You say Chaos is a herald of Omega. But what does that mean?" Vincent asked.

"A herald to a WEAPON is one who controls and protects the WEAPON it is charged with. Its vanguard, is the best way to put it." The old man was still intently studying Vincent, who sank deeper into the shadows to avoid the scrutiny.

"But I heard that WEAPONs cannae be humans. Is that even possible?" The robotic cat twitched into life, Reeve probably taking over again.

"That is what we think, but we are merely humans, and cannot comprehend the meanings of the Cetra. They are connected to the Planet it a way we never can be, and from what I understand, their last living survivor sent you here?" Bugenhagen chuckled. "Good girl. She has a smart head on her shoulders. Yes, WEAPONs can be humans, but only in times of extreme stress. Nanaki, could you bring me that one book from the back? I need a picture from it."

The lion nodded and loped off to a back room at Bugenhagen's request. "Is there a particular reason other than your own problems that you have come here seeking this old man's advice, Mr. Valentine?"

Vincent hesitated, not sure if mentioning his blonde friend here was a very good idea. He'd grown a bit attached to him, he supposed, despite the fact they were apart so often, and did not want him subjected to the same horrors Vincent had been.

Bugenhagen noted his hesitation. "I am not a part of Shinra, you can rest assured all of your secrets are safe with me. I do not have much of a liking for them, as any person in Cosmo Canyon would agree."

There was something about this old man that Vincent felt he could trust at least a little: it was the same thing when he first met Cloud. A deep current that ran through him, what Vincent now understood as the Lifestream.

"Are you a Cetra?" He asked coarsely.

"A Cetra? No, that girl in Midgar is the only true Ancient left. But I have formed a theory that there are humans who have Cetra ancestry, however distant in their blood that draws them to the Planet more than others. They are often people who wander and wish to achieve more than just living peacefully. Surely you know of individuals like this?"

Once again, Cloud ran through his mind. Could this be related? He did not have a chance to think more about it when Nanaki came padding back, a book in his mouth. It had papers stuck in the middle of it, and Bugenhagen gingerly took the packet.

"Some researchers not connected to Shinra were looking into this phenomenon and found something interesting." Bugenhagen removed a picture and handed it over to Vincent. He took it with his claw and Cait Sith hopped up onto his shoulder so they could both look at it. It was a picture of a stone inscription with nearly indecipherable text.

"It reads something along the lines of 'one day, our hopes will be made into a Golden Weapon, to begin his tale anew. Borne on the wings of his Crimson herald, he will one day reveal himself to the world and save it from the Calamity's wrath," Bugenhagen said.

"He? Not it?"

"Yes. It is believed this Golden Weapon spoken of by the Cetra is a human, which is unusual for the Lifestream. The Planet relying on the creatures that plague it so is a very odd move and one, as I said, I cannot begin to comprehend. You would have to ask the flower girl about that." The old man floated lower, and Nanaki had returned to his side.

"There's no other information about this?" Vincent asked, burning with curiosity. His old Turk instincts were activating and he wanted to investigate further. Oddly enough, Nanaki was the one who answered this question.

"When I was out on an errand for Grandfather, I ran into a man dying on the side of the road. He had these papers with him and we concluded he'd been researching this on his own. I brought him back to Cosmo Canyon, but he died shortly afterward from his injuries." Nanaki's tail drooped. "I could not help him."

Bugenhagen shook his head and patted Nanaki comfortingly. "It is not your fault. He was already dying before you got there."

"Who was he?" Cait Sith asked, just as impatient as the red-cloaked Turk.

Nanaki seemed to not be listening. "He spoke of many odd things before he died, and much about the human WEAPON. He said how the Cetra recorded their insights as a storybook, to help lead their chosen warrior upon the right path. We don't know what this is he spoke of…"

_A…storybook?_ Why did that sound familiar? Vincent recalled his first night awake at the Nibelheim mansion and the odd book Sephiroth had found in the library, that Cloud had claimed was his father.

"Wait-" Vincent said suddenly, causing all eyes in the room to be drawn to him. "His name, what was it?"

"Uther Strife. That's all he said in that regard," Nanaki said, and Vincent's stomach grew ice cold, the same feeling he got when he was about to transform.

_I was right…._

* * *

Sephiroth did not know why he stayed so vigilantly at Cloud's side. After sending an exhausted Zack to bed, he promised to stay awake and keep a vigil over the blonde to keep him safe from errant scientists.

Cloud had been this way for two days already, and he showed little sign of waking up. His fever kept raging on and the doctors claimed they heard him talking strangely in his sleep, but otherwise, he remained catatonic. At first, the medical staff was wary of letting the General near Cloud because the new 3rd Class had attacked him, but Sephiroth was easily able to override their concerns. It wasn't like he couldn't defend himself from a sick 15 year old.

Besides, he had enough to think about. Cloud was a strange boy, and continuously proved Sephiroth wrong, time and time again. It took him awhile, especially mistrusting him at first, but the General was finally able to see what Zack loved about the former trooper; he had an unbending will and a firm desire to be a hero, one that was untouched by the poison of Shinra. In Sephiroth's mind, he was a true SOLDIER.

But there was the case of what happened in the Nibelheim mansion, and now this, and he couldn't help but think their fates were intwined. It was a maddening puzzle, and Sephiroth hated being fooled by one so beneath him, but he no longer considered Cloud that. Rather, the boy was a warrior and under his protection and if that meant from Shinra, so be it. He never liked them anyway.

A murmur drew his focus to Cloud again, and he saw that the boy's eyes were opened. Cloud occasionally did this and started speaking, begging people to let him go, for something was inside him he needed to kill, but this time was different.

The mako-blue eyes slid over to Sephiroth, and instead of looking like his own, with the cat-slit pupils, they were calmer now. A comforting blue of the sky. Cloud's lips curved into a smile and he stopped straining against his bonds. "It's okay now…."

"What is? Cloud, speak to me? Are you alright?" Sephiroth stood up, leaning over the bed, causing his silver hair to cascade everywhere. It looked as though the blonde was attempting to reach out to him, but couldn't, so Sephiroth leaned down and gently grabbed his hand.

Cloud looked slightly surprised for a minute, but it passed and he smiled again. "It's okay. Jenova's cradle is destroyed, and soon, you too shall be saved."

The was the same as in the mansion when Jenova escaped from the reactor. "Save me? From what? What are you talking about?"

But it was too late, for Cloud had closed his eyes and fallen back to sleep, not speaking another word. He seemed more peaceful this time, the lines on his face gone and no longer straining against his bonds. Sephiroth reached his hand out to touch Cloud's forehead, and sure enough, the fever was gone.

_What is happening with this kid?_ Sephiroth longed for answers, and the more he sat around the more his rage grew inside of him. He wanted his friends back and he wanted the ones still around to stop being puppets to a madman's scheme. And most of all, he wanted to kill the ones responsible for making them all monsters.

But he couldn't. He had to wait.

* * *

_He was running again. He thought he was done with this, but here were the streets again, and he was running. Lee was there with him and it was confusing fear running away they needed to get away from the gang. Lee was pulling at his arm, shouting, but Reno couldn't hear him. Something happened and a bullet rang out and suddenly the world was dyed red._

_There was red everywhere, red as his hair and red as Lee's slicked back hair too, just red dripping from his fingers, but the world twisted and all of a sudden he was holding Cloud's body instead. Cloud was dying and he needed to stop this. He had to and he didn't know why. All he knew that Cloud was in danger and it was his job to take care of this new threat._

_He fought. He turned around and fought against the red flash with it's steel-crimson sword until the blood had stained the floor in a wing but it still wasn't enough._

_A pro isn't someone who sacrifices himself for his job._

_He had to run so they both could live, but it was too late. The steel-crimson sword flashed once, twice and Reno's blood joined the red stain on the floor-_

He woke up, breathing hard and heavy, sweat curling around his fingers and dripping slowly down his face. This wasn't the first time he'd had this dream; it had started awhile back and Reno had merely thought it was stress, but it continued each night until he was nearly driven mad. He couldn't go to sleep without seeing the crimson stains burning in his eyelids so he stayed up as much as he could.

Rude expressed his concerned, but Reno just joked it off and waved away any concern. It wasn't like he didn't have nightmares before.

Reno briefly contemplated going to the infirmary and getting some sleeping pills, but he doubted with his history they would even let him.

"Dear Minerva in heaven, just let me sleep, will you?" Reno grumbled, sitting up on his bed and stretching. With the state he was in, it was a bad idea to go see Cloud in the infirmary, and besides, the puppy and the General were keeping their eyes on him. Cloud would be safe there.

He on the other hand, was another story. The past few weeks and days were riddled with random blackouts and crippling headaches, to the point where he was nearly crying on the floor. That bad. He knew that Rude and Tseng-and Cissnei-were concerned, but no one could really do anything. Reno felt sick to know that Hojo had almost free reign with him, and not for the first time he wished he could run away.

_Ha, once a coward, always a coward. Huh, 'Red Demon?'_ He really was pathetic, and it was all he could do to stop himself from drinking himself into a stupor. Rude didn't need to deal with that and neither did Cloud.

_You were saying you were a hero, Zack? Cloud? Wanna take a stint at saving someone like me?_

_That was a long shot,_ he thought to himself, curling up again and trying to wish the sudden pounding headache away.

* * *

_I fear that this will be my last words, so I guess I better make them good. My research turned dangerous and I don't know who it was that attacked me but I can't survive…I'm bleeding too much._

_I cannot help but think of my namesake, Uther. He was the father of Arthur, a great and legendary king. He had a loyal court called the Knights of the Round, as well as a brother Mordred, but the brother was stolen away when he was just a baby and raised to be a tool for the Calamity's revenge against the Planet._

_It succeeded for Mordred and Arthur managed to kill each other in battle without even knowing of their relation, and the knights, so loyal in defeat, turned themselves into a Summon to wait for their king to be reborn and reclaim their loyalty._

_That's at least how the Cetra explain the story behind the most powerful summon of all time, and regale their hopeless tale against the Calamity, but at the end there is a note of hope; the king being reborn as a Champion, to finally destroy the Calamity in her whole._

_Why I think of this as I'm bleeding out on the ground, but I feel it's important. It is the only story that was never recorded in the storybook I gave to my son, so there should be at least one record of it to exist._

_Irony that I am Uther, and I have a son. I always believed there was something special about you, Cloud, though it is probably just a thing a father says. But I know you will grow up to be a great hero._

_I am so sorry. I thought that solving this mystery of the Golden Weapon could help us have security as a family, that I could make money by selling my research, but I was far too wrong. I have just become another drop in the water of the Planet and just another anecdote of the story._

_Be strong, Claudia, and you too Cloud. I'll be watching you always from the Lifestream._

_I love you both._

_-The last words of Uther Strife_


	24. Icarus

Angeal stirred slowly in his slumber, not aware he'd fallen asleep in the first place. A shout roused him completely and he rose from his sitting position, wincing from the continued pain of his degradation. It was getting worse, very quickly; as much as he tried not to show it for the sake of Yuffie, he was falling apart very quickly.

Speaking of the little ninja, since the visit from Zack, she had been angry at him, upon discovering his lie that he was not a SOLDIER. As much as Angeal tried to explain his situation, the girl had gone running off, and no amount of searching had yielded any results. For an eight-year-old, she was very good at hiding.

Which is why, upon hearing the shout, the ex-SOLDIER immediately woke up, fearing for her safety. He however, needn't have worried, for Yuffie immediately came running up to him, yelling about something over the ridge. Angeal was glad that she had gotten over her anger, but it was overridden by what she was saying.

"Angeal! You meanie! You let the weird angel people get away!" Yuffie yelled, attempting to pull the large man along with her. Still attempting to shake himself from sleep, he followed her and stopped completely when he saw what was over the ridge.

Nothing. They had all left.

He'd been keeping watch for days, worried about what Genesis was planning, when the event with Zack and Yuffie had happened and he almost completely forgot about his old friend. It was truly a horrible failure on his part, but he had no time for self-pity.

"Yuffie, did you see which way they went?" He asked firmly, not having time for anything but the truth.

"They just went that way! Just lifted off and flew in one big whoosh! There was even a guy with a really bright red sword and I think he was their leader," Yuffie babbled, pointing her finger somewhere vaguely east.

Angeal's fears were confirmed. They were heading towards Midgar. Genesis was about to invade.

* * *

_He saw Aerith in a few of his fevered dreams but was only able to say a few words to her. She mostly just looked at him with sadness, as if something she knew was about to happen, and she could not tell him. Cloud desperately tried to reach out, but she was too far away and everything was flashing too bright and dark._

_Occasionally snippets of what was happening outside of his mind leaked their way in; he heard snatches of doctor's voices, of Zack's and Sephiroth's conversations-they were watching over him, weren't they? He could feel the creeping fear still on his skin, and the scent of Jenova's cradle inside of him._

_The Lifestream raged on, roaring through his ears like a river. Its fury lashed out through his eyes and his body and he didn't know what was happening but Cloud could sense it was trying to protect him. He couldn't tell if it was Aerith's or the Planet's will, but he was having a hard time distinguishing them. Either way, Cloud found out that every piece of pain and black in his soul that the light touched vanished, so he eagerly threaded the green tendrils through his whole body, washing away the pain and nightmares._

_When all the black was gone, he expected to see Aerith's face again, this time smiling beautifully, but it was someone else. At first he mistook her for his mother, because she had the same golden hair and blue hair, but she spoke in a voice he had never heard before._

**_My Champion of the Planet, I believe you are strong enough now._ **

_The pain faded and he dreamed normally, only this time he returned to the nightmares._

* * *

_He saw Reno finally, after all this time, but he wasn't turning to face Cloud. He was looking at something different. The sky. Reno was looking up at the sky, turning his hair to something redder than blood. Crimson flash, wings were burning fire fire everywhere and suddenly Reno was an angel, a one winged angel, reaching up to the sky and the sun._

_Cloud tried to yell, he tried to scream and shout to get away from the fire and the sun but his friend couldn't hear him and slowly, the beautiful wing caught fire and burned away, consuming his entire figure until all the was left was scorched feathers scattering on the wind._

_Where did he go Reno where did you go, the wing was burned now into the ground upside down-_

He woke up with a start, something violently jerking him back as he tried to sit up. Zack jumped back with a yelp, obviously not expecting Cloud to wake up so violently.

"Hey, buddy, calm down, it's just me! Okay?" Zack said in a soothing voice, catching himself and settling back down. Cloud blinked and slowly turned his head towards his friend, feeling suddenly lethargic.

"What?" He asked dumbly, running his tongue around his mouth. It felt all dry and raw, like he'd been eating sand, and the sheets where he was lying were all scratchy and rough on his sensitive skin. Cloud blinked again, suddenly noticing how sharp everything had come into focus—he could see little edges and details and even dust in the air like he never could before. "Woah."

"First time seeing with mako, huh?" Zack said, the relief clear on his voice. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it, Cloud. It's kinda overwhelming at first."

Cloud slid his eyes over to his friend now, stunned at all the little details he missed before. He could see Zack's face in high definition, from how the muscles under his smooth skin moved, to each little hair in his brow-line. It was odd, to say the very least. "Zack?"

"Yeah, it's me. Are you all back now?" Zack asked, his eyes wide and a puppy look clear on his face.

Cloud's brow scrunched up. "What do you mean, back?"

"Well, you probably don't remember, but you got your mako injections and went a little….nuts. Like attacking everyone nuts, and well…" Zack trailed off, looking away from him.

The blonde didn't know what the hell he was talking about and tried to sit up again, feeling the same force as before tugging him back down again. Cloud was confused for a moment before he looked down at his hospital bed, eyes widening when he saw the padded bands restraining his wrists and ankles.

"What the fuck?!" He yelled, attempting to tear himself away from the bonds.  _This must be another trick of Hojo's! I gotta get out of here!_

"Cloud, stop! Stop it, I swear to Minerva!" Zack was suddenly there, holding down his shoulders and Cloud froze, his face really close to the older SOLDIER's. Everything was so clear, the lines and edges and the slight crease around Zack's eyes and the tiny sparkle. They both breathed in and out, pausing for a moment, before Zack slowly, gently, moved away, not letting go of the blonde's arms.

"Cloud, it's okay. Hojo has nothing to do with this. It was for your own safety," Zack said softly.

His chest had began to sting when the first class said that, and he looked down, feeling the bandages under his buttoned shirt. "What do you mean?"

"Well, like I said…you kind of went berserk from your injection. You tried to attack Sephiroth and then…" Zack spoke reluctantly, not wanting to tell Cloud, but the newly-dubbed 3rd Class just glared at him long enough to cause his friend to crumble. "Well, then you tried to attack yourself and uh, well, rip your own chest open."

Cloud swallowed, bile rising in his throat. "I did that to myself?"

Zack nodded sadly. "Yeah…you kept yelling about how 'she' was inside of you and you needed to destroy her, and your eyes were all weird. They were all blue and glowing, and not just like you were a SOLDIER either."

Cloud's memory flashed and he recalled that weird black syringe that Hojo had injected him with. Coupled with what Zack had mentioned…"Hojo."

"What? Where is he? I'll kill him!" Zack's head whipped around like a snake ready to strike.

"No I…" Cloud tugged lightly on the bonds again. Yeah, he wasn't going anywhere, and he certainly didn't feel the super strength that came with mako injections. "He gave me something weird. That might be what I was talking about."

Zack froze suddenly. "Gave you what?"

"Does it look like I know? I just remember getting that injection, and then I started seeing horrible things and everything was screaming at me to kill Jenova. That's all I know," Cloud turned his head to the side, since he couldn't really move any way else. "Can you let me go? Please…"

Zack's eyes were mournful as he shook his head. "I'm so sorry, spiky. If I did that again, they'd kick me out for good. But me and Seph have been keeping watch over you night and day so nothing would happen!"

Wait, night and day? "How long have I been out?"

"Like three days? That's not the point. What the hell did Hojo give you?" Zack asked, leaning up against the bed again. Cloud merely shrugged, tired again.

"I wish I knew. It's kinda scary, not knowing what's going on with your own body," Cloud admitted, shivering just a little bit, remembering the black ooze that had nearly consumed Zack. His friend frowned and then leaned forward, wrapping his strong arms as gently as he could around Cloud's neck and shoulders.

The blonde wasn't usually fond of hugs but he leaned as much as he was able into this one, reassured by Zack's warmth. Cloud buried his face into the SOLDIER's hair, breathing in the scent and feeling the softness, reminding himself that this was real and Zack wasn't leaving. As long as this warmth was here, he'd be safe. Zack's arms tightened slightly, forming a protective circle before finally pulling away.

Cloud was sad to see him go, wanting his friend to stay there, right next to him, but it was already gone. He instead tugged at the bonds around his wrists again, hating the vulnerable state they left him in, open to anybody. Open to a mad scientist.

"It'll be okay, I promise, Cloud. And if it isn't, I'll make it okay," Zack said, his voice serious.

"I'm sorry. I was supposed to get stronger to help you, but you just…" Cloud's voice cracked in the middle of that sentence, and the first class's hand again reached out to softly ruffle his spikes.

"Cloud, stop apologizing. You really are one of the strongest people I've met to survive all this. You just have to hang in a little longer, and then you can fulfill your promise. Honor and dreams, right?" Zack smiled, trying to get Cloud to as well, but his lips only curved a little bit.

_Keep that dream alive…._

* * *

Zack was only able to stay until a certain point of the night, when a horde of doctors ushered him out almost forcefully. They then spent the rest of the evening asking questions about Cloud's condition, how he was, how he felt, if he remembered anything. Cloud tried to answer them all as truthfully as he could, gritting his teeth when they did tests to see if he was really okay. At least these people were supposed to be helping him.

A while later, the doctor declared him not only fine, but adapting to the mako at far higher rate than was normal. "I've never seen anything like it before," she said. "Once you recover, your physical scores will probably match even a second class."

Cloud just stared at her like she was crazy. A second class? He certainly didn't feel that strong. And they still didn't remove the bonds. It didn't take a genius to notice how some of technicians were skirting around him and spending as little time as possible near his body. They were afraid of him.

_Well, I don't blame them. I'm afraid of myself too._

And so night fell and he was left all alone, tied up and vulnerable with no one around. Cloud started twisting at his bonds again, trying to loosen them, but they had been made specifically for errant SOLDIERs. No matter how much he had pleaded with them to let him go, they refused, on the grounds of 'making sure he was no longer a danger to himself.'

"More like they are scared little fucks," Cloud muttered to himself, no longer caring about language. It wasn't like his mother could hear him anyway. He supposed he was to go to sleep now, but he didn't feel sleepy at all. He was energized and ready to bust out of here, if that's what it took.

He wanted Zack or Sephiroth or Reno or SOMEONE to appear and break him out, because this place was giving him the creeps, but nothing happened. It was silent and dead here. Cloud closed his now-luminous eyes, trying to meditate and concentrate with his other senses. The mako had enhanced his hearing as well, so he could hear all the way to the front of the infirmary, where he could hear the occasional shuffle of papers from the night-shift worker to pacing footsteps out in the hallway. Each shift of his own blanket was deafening, as well as the various beeps and noises of monitors, so it was no surprise when he heard the ominous set of feet coming.

It was Hojo's walking pattern. How he knew, Cloud could never figure out, but the mad scientist was coming, and there was no one around to let him out. He desperately struggled against the bed, the straps cutting into his wrists but it was no use. They were firmly clamped and Hojo was here.

Cloud was sure that all Hojo could see was a pair of blue eyes staring at him out of nowhere, but that didn't stop him at all. The blonde instinctively tried to shrink up, stopping only when the bed rattled loudly and his wrists began to hurt again. The stinging in his chest ignored, Cloud practically growled at Hojo, imagining a number of horrible deaths for the scientist as he stood there.

"This is your fault," Cloud hissed, but the scientist, shrouded in dark, made no reaction. Hojo merely reached for his head, and he tried leaning away, only able to move a few inches. The needle was already going into his neck before he even realized it, and he felt ice spread through his veins, slowly numbing his entire body up.

"You give me too much credit. Let's see how your Mother is doing," Hojo said, calmly taking out supplies from the cabinets around the room. Cloud tried to move, but whatever the scientist had given him had numbed his whole body, even his face. He was lucky he could even breathe and swallow. All Cloud could do was glare him down as Hojo inserted another needle into his arm, drawing out a couple vials of blood. He suspected that it wasn't healthy to draw that much out but, it didn't really matter when he couldn't feel it.

As much as the third class struggled, he couldn't move a single muscle, not even when Hojo undid the bonds. Cloud didn't even want to know what the scientist was planning to do, he just wanted out of there. Hojo began looking at his hands and then his eyes, seeming to look for some signs of a change and not finding any.

What had Hojo even meant about his Mother? She was back in Nibelheim and had no idea this was happening. His attention was brought back to the present when he felt, or rather saw, Hojo begin to move him, only to stop when he heard footsteps out in the hallway. Hojo stopped what he was doing and swore, glancing back down at Cloud, who was giving him the rudest mental hand-sign he could muster.

The footsteps only grew louder as the scientist grew more and more frantic and eventually Hojo just gathered his things and scurried off into another room, leaving Cloud all alone with the approaching danger. The blonde couldn't turn to see who it was so he just closed his eyes, hoping the person would just walk by. There was no such luck, as the feet stopped at the foot of his bed.

"Oh good, you're free already. That saves me some time."

Cloud's eyes shot open and sure enough, Reno was standing there at his bedside, looking rather harried.

"Oh you're awake? Good. Come on Cloud, we need to get you out of here," Reno said, gesturing for Cloud to get up and follow him. Not being able to respond, he just glanced down at his whole body and up to the red-head again, trying to convey he  _couldn't_  move.

"What? Why are you staring at me? Come on, we need to…." Reno looked left and right, then back down at his friends prone body. "Why aren't you moving. Did the asshole do something to you?"

Cloud blinked once, trying to say yes, and this time, Reno swore like a sailor.

"You've gotta be fuckin' with me…" Reno said. "We definitely need t' get you outta here. Sorry about this but, I've gotta do it."

The Turk leaned over and slipped his arms underneath Cloud's shoulders and knees, lifting him completely off the bed. "Oh, dear Minerva! What are you made of, metal?"

Cloud just stared at the red-head until he started walking his way out of there. "You owe me big time for this one. Shiva, you weigh like five tons! Why couldn't Rude be the one to carry you?"

Reno kept up this running commentary all the way down the hallway and throughout the entire trip, only stopping when he had to set Cloud down because he was too heavy. Eventually they did make it to Reno and Rude's room, the hallways surprisingly empty as they did so.  _Perhaps Tseng's doing…._

_"_ Home sweet home," Reno muttered, dumping Cloud onto his couch a little more roughly than he probably had to. "Sorry 'bout that, we figured Hojo might try somethin' so the Turks have put you into protective custody. Rude an' Cissnei will be outside the door guarding us."

_Us?_ The red-head didn't stop talking there, though.

"I keep havin' weird dreams, yo. Dunno what they mean either. Jus' a lot of red an' feathers and you're there too. I wanted to ask ya, but you decided to go nuts and enter a coma. Figured you were havin' a hard enough time as it was." Reno was looking away from him, off into the distance. Cloud couldn't say anything, but he could see that his friend looked more haggard and troubled than usual. There were circles under Reno's eyes, and whenever he moved, Cloud could see his muscles trembling.

"Look, jus' forget it, yo. I don't need you starin' at me like that. Just go to sleep or something." Reno stood up and walked away, and it was really the only thing Cloud could do.

* * *

Cloud didn't know how much time had passed since after he woke up, but the first thing he noticed was that he could actually move his face and his arms. His legs were still just as numb as normal, but he was finally mobile. He did feel safe here in Reno's apartment, but being able to move made him feel better. Now maybe he could straighten out what was going on.

Last night and all of the events before it felt like a dream and he didn't even know if it all happened, if it weren't for the mako flowing through his veins and making the lines of everything crisp and sharp. Cloud shook his head, not wanting to remember the nightmares and Hojo and his friends getting eaten alive by the the black ooze that made his chest sting and his skin crawl. Instead, he attempted to push himself up a bit further on the couch, trying to spot Reno.

He heard the bathroom door open and the red-head came out, completely shirtless. Cloud hadn't meant to stare, but as Reno wandered his apartment half-clothed, his eyes followed the red tattoos that trailed along his body. He didn't know the Turk had more of them.

As if sensing the blonde's eyes, Reno turned around, seeing Cloud awake. "Oh, hey sleeping beauty. I was afraid I'd hafta kiss you awake or somethin'."

Cloud glared at him. "Shut up."

Reno's face lit up. "Oh, you can talk finally? Sweet! Does that mean the drugs are wearin' off?"

Not wanting to argue much further, Cloud just nodded. Reno grinned, scratching around at his left eye. "Well, at least that's goin' good."

There was a little more knocking around in the background and then the red-head came over and flopped next to him on the couch, nudging his legs a little over to the side.

"It's only my face and arms, but I can move," Cloud explained. Reno made a nasty face.

"Man, someone needs to teach that fuckin' trash a lesson that he jus' can't mess with whoever he pleases. An' from what I can tell, Rude and Sephiroth are more than willin'."

Cloud looked at the Turk curiously. Sephiroth he could understand, but Rude? Reno noticed the stare and decided to enlighten him.

"I've been havin' a rough past few days myself. Weird nightmares, losin' vision in my left eye, random blackouts. Jee, I wonder when this all started? Oh right, Hojo," Reno said bitterly, waving his right hand around.

"I've been having weird dreams too." Apparently this drug liked to still make him lethargic, in addition to numbing his nervous system. "Do you think they're connected?"

The red-head merely shrugged. "Fuck if I know. Everythin's been weird these past few weeks, an' I don' even know what t' think. It's stupid. I'm a Turk. It's my job to know everything."

Cloud looked curiously at Reno, who was surprisingly distraught. He'd never heard Reno complain on this level before, especially not about things that he was actually worried about. Usually the red-haired Turk would just laugh it off or make up a joke and then keep going. It was annoying, but it worked.

"Well, I don't know anything, and neither does anyone else. It's not just you," Cloud said, sort of attempting to comfort him.

"Ha. Well, they ain't the ones getting experimented on, are they? Well, the General obviously but…ugh! This shit is so stupid!" Reno yelled suddenly, burying his face in his hands. "No wonder Vincent warned me about this."

"What did Vincent warn you about?" Was that about the time Reno had ran away in the mansion?

"Caring about people. And acting before it's too late." The voice was muffled, but still audible.

"Caring about…?"

"You. You, you fuckin' dumbass. Somethin' a Turk ain't supposed t' do. An' now Hojo's caught wind a' this and he's usin' me like a puppet, just like everyone else!" Reno's voice twisted and so did his fingers. Cloud was shocked; he'd never seen Reno so upset about anything.

Slowly, Cloud reached a couple of fingers over to Reno's shoulder, straining any of the muscles he could actually use. Reno had helped him out a lot, and it hurt to see him upset almost as much as it did for Zack. They were the strong ones and he didn't know how to prop  _them_ up—it's what they did for him.

Cloud's fingers brushed Reno's skin, but the red-head unexpectedly bucked away, bringing his fists up defensively. "The hell, yo?!"

The blonde froze in place. "I was just trying to-I'm sorry!"

He held his own hands up, causing him to slip sideways and nearly fall off the couch. Luckily, Reno managed to catch him before he did completely, depositing him back on the pillows. "Man, are ya accident prone."

"I'm sorry…."

Reno glared down at him with icy eyes. "Yo, where the hell did all your fight go? Normally you'd be up an' tryin' to strangle me for even lookin' at ya funny and now you're here apologizin' cause I got startled? The fuck is wrong with you, Cloud?"

Reno's words worked and Cloud's own hackles raised. "Nice to know you're concerned too, you ass."

"There's the Cloud I know, that's better." The Turk, looking smug with himself, leaned back on the couch and Cloud's eyes wandered again. Now that Reno was still, he could see the lines of the red tattoos clearly against his skin, and they wound all around his torso and upper arms. The scars were there too, and it was obvious he'd been in a lot of fights and not all of those were winning ones.

"See somethin' ya like?" Reno asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is it normal for Turks to have tattoos like that?" Cloud asked, ignoring him.

"Nope. Well, probably not. Most a' this shit is from when I lived below the plates." All of a sudden, Reno transformed, as he did when he was hanging out with Ellie. No longer hard and tough like a Turk, but instead like a kid who'd seen too much. Cloud wasn't going anywhere anyway, so he was curious.

Turns out, he didn't even have to ask, for the red-head kept talking anyway. "Everyone loves markin' me as their own, so I decided to get back at them and tell them the only person who can own me is me."

Reno drew a hand around the small Oroboros symbol that was on his stomach."This one. And this one-" he pointed to a crude symbol on his shoulder-" And the Red Demon on my back was what they did. Gang symbols, you know, the usual shit. They snapped me up easily 'cause Lee had been killed by them and I had no one else lookin' out for me. The Oroboros were some infamous ring of drug dealers and human traffickers an' you can tell how well that ended up."

Cloud said absolutely nothing, for he knew if he said the wrong thing, Reno would just crack and he wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Man, the shit I did to survive…yeah the drugs and the alcohol and the….other stuff I had t' do….it wasn't pleasant, but I did it. Cause I wanted t' live. I promised Lee that night he died. I promised him I'd see the sky and watch it rain," Reno said, staring down at his feet. "I wasn't gonna be their puppet forever."

"I think I remember you telling me a little about Lee…" Cloud said quietly, but Reno didn't react.

"He was like my brother," Reno mumbled, not looking at anything. "Great guy. Loved him so much. An' then he just got shot like that in front a' me, because the gang we ran with stabbed us in the back. He covered me. He fuckin' covered me so they thought I was dead too. I fuckin' stood there and I promised that I'd get out of there and see it rain and then I went and did all those disgusting things, and now look at me. I'm no better than I was before!"

Reno finally looked up and stared straight at Cloud, who was struck speechless by the confessions. "Now Hojo's tryin' to get me as a puppet just when I finally remade my family. How ironic is that? I don't want it! I said I was free and I marked myself so I'd get better!"

Reno's own pain made Cloud's eyes sting and he had to raise his fingers and wipe away anything that was threatening to fall. The tingling had hit his legs and waist, finally, so he could shift a little closer to the Turks. "You are better."

"Shut the hell up, don't you dare give me that empty crap!"

"Yeah? And what if I tell you I don't feel any stronger than the day I first met you, but people keep telling me I've changed? You've had plenty more time than me, so I think you're probably less likely to break down," Cloud said. This was harder than Zack because Reno was angry and distraught.

"It's happenin' all again. I swore I'd never be a puppet, and I'd make it out to see what the sun looks like!" Reno shouted, clenching his fists. Another shiver ran through Cloud's body, remembering the story of the Crimson Devil, and he had a feeling he suddenly knew what tattoo Reno had on his back.

"I can prove it to you. Turn around."

Reno just gave him a weird stare before obliging the third class. As soon as Reno's back was turned, Cloud sucked in a breath. Not from the twisted marks that marred his skin, but because of the beautiful red wing that extended across his back, the feathers dissolving into little petals of flames at the end. It was an amazing work of art, except for the fact that it was upside down, just like the scorch marks in his dream. And just like in his book, a picture next to the Crimson Devil.

"Thought so," he said, under his breath, causing Reno to whirl back around, demanding answers.

"You gonna tell me what that's all about, Cloudy?"

"Ever hear the story of Icarus?" He asked, figuring the name Crimson Devil wouldn't strike any bells.

A confused blink.

"He was some kid who lived on the streets and dreamed of flying in the sky, and finding a life in the floating city above his head. So he went through a bunch of stuff and eventually he did, only one time he found a friend and to impress him, flew into the sun and died because his wings burned up. That's the symbol of Icarus on your back."

"So what you're sayin' is I'm gonna burn up in the sun?" Reno asked, incredulously.

"No, Icarus is a symbol of freedom. Because even in death he was free. Besides, in his story he comes back, sort of, " Cloud said, waving of Reno's protests. "The point IS, you idiot, is that I know how you feel. And you probably don't give yourself enough credit. Something like that. Look, just, we're friends right?"

"Where are you going with this? Are you gonna confess your undying love for me or something?" Reno asked, a bright eyebrow raising.

A short flip of the middle finger and Cloud answered that. "I always liked Icarus's story. And you remind me of him. So shut up and let me tell that now since I'm SOLDIER, I promised to help protect everyone, and that includes you."

The two of them stared at each other for a minute before Reno burst out laughing. Cloud smiled back at him, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's not that funny, you moron."

"It is to me! You protectin' me? I'm a Turk yo, an' you're a SOLDIER who jus' woke up from a three day nap. It is pretty funny," Reno crowed.

"Remind me to never actually care about you again, you fucking jerk," Cloud growled, actually offended. Could he never take anything seriously? They were having a moment!

"Hey, but I-"

"Just don't talk to me." Cloud forced himself over on his side and looked away from Reno, never catching the actual pain in the pale blue eyes. He was just going to sleep this off, and hopefully forget about everything.

* * *

Hojo stared at the screen in disbelief. This couldn't be possible! When the boy had come in for his mako injections, he had clearly inserted live Jenova cells from his incubator inside his bloodstream, but now it was completely clear! In every one of the blood samples he had collected, there were absolutely not traces of Jenova cells whatsoever, and now the Turks had stolen him away.

This boy was the one, no doubt about it. He had killed those Jenova cells.

* * *

Cloud was greeted roughly with the fact that he could move when Reno shook him awake suddenly. He was about to yell at the red-head for disturbing him again when he noticed the panicked look on the Turk's face. "What the hell do you want?"

"No time to dilly-dally Cloud," Reno said hurriedly, dragging the blonde upright. "Shinra is under attack!"

 


	25. Red

_He remembered the day he got that tattoo. Reno had finally become a Turk after being arrested and pushed through vigorous training, but he came out of it for the better. He was alive, he was happy and he was on top of the world. He'd finally seen what the sky looked like, felt the wind on his face, tasted the bright scorching sun, everything Lee had wished for him._

_The tattoo artist had given him a bit of a weird look when he heard the red-head's request, but gil was gil and several hours later Reno was marked with the symbol of freedom he always wanted._

_But now hearing Cloud's cautionary tale of the angel who burned up in the sun, he was wondering if wings were really what he wanted._

* * *

Cloud could only stare dumbly at Reno for a moment before everything finally clicked. "What?"

"Didn't you hear me? Shinra is under attack! By Genesis! Man, I dunno what the fuck is happenin' but Tseng didn't sound good over the damn phone."

"He's attacking? Why would he do that?" Anything that happened yesterday was completely forgotten and he shot straight up, still in his hospital clothes. They would have to do for now.

"Fuckin' beats me, yo! Jus' one moment it's all good an' the next-" Reno was cut off by the sound of sirens outside and the sudden flashing of red lights. Shinra had gone onto full alert and if Cloud strained his mako enhanced ears, he could hear the faint sounds of explosions.

"Come on!" Reno said, pulling Cloud upright and to the door. Once it slid open, the blonde had to hunch over and cover his ears, the sirens were so loud.

"I know, I know, just follow me!" Reno seemed to be shouting as he dragged the new SOLDIER along by the arm to places unknown. In the panic of the moment, Cloud just let the Turk lead him to wherever he wanted to go, trying to get used to the sudden cacophony that had spawned around him.  _This is definitely not the best way to get introduced to enhanced senses,_ he thought grimly as Reno kept shoving him through different doorways, past people who were running around like their heads were cut off.

He only looked up when Reno had stopped and was saying something to him. Cloud removed his hands, only to find himself back in the infirmary somehow.

"Get your stuff, quick! We need to get you out of here!" Reno gestured at the room, which was eerily empty and silent. The attack had just started so the medical personnel were probably all out on the field-either that, or not here at all. The blonde didn't rightly care at the moment, just rushing over to what used to be his bed and retrieving all of his belongings while Reno kept an eye on the door.

He found a SOLDIER 3rd uniform there, oddly enough-probably a present from Zack-and quickly changed into that, trusting it a lot more than the medical clothes he'd been put into. He scooped up the Odin materia, his father's book, and various other materials before returning to the entrance, only to find Reno being accosted by several small crawling robots.

Two or three of them were already smoking wrecks on the floor, thanks to the red-head's EMR, but the rest were quickly swiveling around to surround the Turk, shooting out bolts of low level electricity. Cloud rushed forward, aiming a kick and surprising himself when a couple of them went flying into the wall, leaving robot-shaped scorch marks.

"Man, am I glad you got your enhancements before this happened," Reno panted and Cloud stamped on the last one to kill it.

"I hate these stupid ankle-biters!" Cloud growled, kicking at the twisted remains and checking for any more of them. "Are you okay?"

"Fine as daisies. Let's get goin'. Cissnei says there everywhere an' they need help on th' upper levels. Let's go." Reno signaled down the hall and the two took off.

* * *

_The three days Cloud was unconscious, Reno kept having nightmares. Not that he didn't get them before, but this time they involved real people and real things and were the scariest thing he'd ever seen._

_"Hey Lee, why do you want to get out of the slums?"_

_"Easy question there, squirt. You think I want to live like this?"_

_"No really, Lee. I want to see the sky. What do you want to do?"_

_"The same thing, Red. See the sky. Feel the wind. Dream. An' of course make loads of money. That's the important part, huh?"_

_Reno had laughed. And later, when Lee was dying in his arms, his blood staining as red as his hair, Reno had cried for the first time._

_"Lee, you promised!"_

_"And so did you. Promise me you'll get out of here. Promise me you'll see it rain."_

_It was stupid and melodramatic, but he did. Reno promised to see the blood-red sun, and years later, after selling his soul to the devil, he did. Even when he became a Turk and started making loads of money, as he called it, Reno still had those dreams._

_Nights full of monsters, and nights full of blood, but it was only in those three days Cloud was unconscious that Reno dreamed of him._

_And this time it wasn't Lee's blood._

* * *

No matter where Reno and Cloud went in the building, the monsters found them. First it was wierd spiders crawling from the cieling, then a pack of coeurls, and finally a full-on Genesis replica which the two had barely managed to defeat without being skewered alive. The robots were easy compared to those guys.

"Okay, this is fuckin' ridiculous! What is with these goddamn creatures!" Reno yelled to the finally empty hallway, strewn with corpses. Cloud had managed to pick up a sword off one of the dead SOLDIERs they had found-something that had upset him greatly-so he was faring better, but not by much. The adrenaline that had rushed into his system had made him forget everything but his own survival, and now Cloud was regretting his phone had gotten lost, wanting to call Zack and make sure he was okay.

Reno, however, was already ahead of him, typing furiously into his phone as the lights continued to eerily go off around them. "Fuckin' shit, he brought a summon…"

Cloud was about to ask what he meant, when Reno looked up from the phone, his face grim. "Rude an' the other Turks are havin' trouble around the entrance. I need to get over there an' back them up. There's also reports of a summon somewhere on the upper levels an' the General is requestin' you go take care of it while we try to protect the bigshots. Can ya do that?"

Cloud stood there numbly a bit before it finally dawned on them they had to split up. "What? Yeah. Okay, I can do that. Wait, how's Zack? Where is he-"

"Literally he just texted me saying he was fine an' askin' the same thing. Stop worryin' about your boyfriend and get going!" Reno said, attempting to shove him down the hallway. It didn't really work anymore. Cloud just gave him a glare and ran off, not even bothering to say something back. He really was starting to have a bad feeling about this.

* * *

Now that Cloud wasn't with him, the going was much easier, only furthering Reno's suspicions about what Genesis was after. The blonde SOLDIER had something weird going on with his mako, and he was sure that for whatever reason, probably related to his experiment, Genesis wanted him alive.

Well, over his dead freakin' body.

Okay, not quite dead body, as Reno still didn't believe in sacrificing himself dramatically for his friends, preferring them both to stay alive, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to help the idiot out. He was a Turk, and Turks protected their friends.

Even if the were maddening, infuriating, amazing blonde SOLDIERs like Cloud was. Genesis would have to suck it.

His phone kept beeping like crazy from all the messages he was receiving as he took the stairs down a few at a time-never trust the elevators in a time like this, he learned-and were it not for the risk of falling face-first on the ground, he was tempted to look at all of them. Yes he knew the building was under attack; there wasn't much he could do about it now!

Sliding down the banister for the last couple of flights, he finally arrived at the bottom, only to burst out of the door at the Shinra lobby and realize there was something very wrong. The normal employees were vacant, but a few dead troopers and monsters were lying all around. Reno quietly stepped down to the bottom floor, suddenly feeling like he was almost disturbing something, when he saw the prone bodies of the other Turks thrown against the desk.

"Rude! Tseng! Cissnei!" He yelled, rushing forward, which was his first mistake. Tseng's eyes slowly opened and widened, attempting to shout when a red-gloved hand reached around and grabbed onto his Reno's neck.

* * *

If it wasn't for the terrible situation that had been forced on him, Cloud would've felt amazing. He still did, able to decimate the robots and monsters in one blow, if he aimed well enough, but it didn't feel real to him. It just felt all like an elaborate, realistic dream, and he'd wake up and be weak again.

Either way, he fought his way through various monsters, trying to reach a roof access, when he heard a very familiar voice.

"Seth? Seth!" Cloud shouted, taking a detour down a hallway, where a group of coeurls had converged on a pair of bodies. Zack's training thinking for him, Cloud's sword flashed out and the monsters dropped dead, one by one.

"Cloud? Cloud, oh sweet Goddess it's you!" Seth sobbed, once the air was clear of blood and monsters. The SOLDIER kneeled next to his friend.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking the bigger boy over. Seth just shook his head, tears falling from his eyes and Cloud's stomach started twisting up painfully again. "Seth, where's your brother?"

He merely made a choking noise, pointing across the hallway. "He-he won't wake up, Cloud! Can you help him?"

Cloud turned around, only to see what he was fearing-Rin was lying there, his body torn up by the coeurls claws so it was barely recognizable. His blood had splashed everywhere, having stained Cloud's shoes and gloves as he rushed forward, desperately checking him.

"Rin? Rin? Are you-Rin, no!" Cloud said, desperately searching the boy's empty eyes for something of his friend still there. He knew that entering Shinra, and pledging his life to become a SOLDIER, he'd see terrible things, but…

"Rin? Why? Come on! We were gonna celebrate! You made SOLDIER, you idiot!" Cloud yelled. It had never struck him his friends would actually die and he suddenly remembered the vision of Zack covered in blood. His imagination started working in overdrive, and now he was seeing everyone of the people he cared about torn up underneath him. Zack, Reno, his mother, Tifa, Angeal, even the infallible General.

Cloud's stomach twisted until he could handle it no more and he stumbled to the side, throwing up. He kept throwing up, until he stomach twisted and he coughed, nothing more coming up. Pain prickled at his eyes and it wasn't just the pain making him cry. He remembered Rin alive and well, standing there and promising to drag him and his own brother out drinking because they made SOLDIER, gently teasing Zack when he told them they were all still underage. He was alive. He used to be alive and now all Cloud could remember was his ripped up body and his dead eyes. Swallowing his fear, Cloud reached over and closed the boy's eyes, giving him at least a little dignity before returning to his brother on the other side.

"I'm-I'm sorry. I was so stupid," He started to say, but Seth hugged him before he could finish.

"He died protecting me. He died because he wanted to be strong and a hero like you," Seth said, "It's your fault, but in a good way. I've never been more proud of him."

"But he's dead-"

Seth shook against his shoulder. "I know! I don't want him dead either, and I want nothing more then to call him an idiot, but he did it himself! I can't be mad at that. I just hope he'll…forgive me..for being weak…"

Cloud's throat was painful as he struggled not to cry, but Seth didn't have that problem as he mourned the loss of his only brother.

"I don't think…this is for me..I don't think I can go on. Can you…?" Seth asked, finally pushing away from the blonde SOLDIER. "You're the strongest person we know. Can you remember him and us? Can you get Genesis?"

He was being asked to promise again, calling him strong. Where had they gotten this idea? He didn't feel strong, attempting to scrape his way through all of the terrible things. Half of the time he felt like he was drowning and just pretending to survive, but everyone kept saying that. They couldn't carry on, so maybe it was time for him to believe everyone, since he couldn't believe himself.

"I promise," Cloud said.

* * *

"ˆ _The wandering soul knows no rest,"_ A silky voice said behind Reno. "You're a very hard person to catch, you know."

Reno couldn't speak, much less move, with the red hand wrapped around his throat, practically crushing his windpipe.

"You see, a little bird told me I'd find Jenova cells here that could save my life. I know Hojo had hidden them in Nibelheim, but you idiots decided to set her free. But then Hollander let me know the esteemed Professor had hidden another cache of cells in a very unusual place." The grip slid around and tightened as Genesis came into view, peering directly into Reno's eyes. The red-head's hands desperately scrambled at his own neck, but Genesis was on the rank of Sephiroth; otherwise known as impossible for a Turk to defeat.

"At first I thought the blonde boy who had the gall to stand up to me, but no, he didn't have the taint we all carry," Genesis continued, not paying attention to Reno's protests. He was getting air, but barely, and he couldn't focus on anything but his constricted throat. "So I wondered, what exactly would Hojo do?"

Reno had no idea what the renegade SOLDIER was getting at, too focused on not dying and the Turks slowly waking up behind him. He'd thought it was Cloud too, due to the monsters that kept attacking, but there was something weird about this whole situation.

"You, my friendly Turk, are a very unfortunate person. Jenova cells in your left eye, and you didn't even realize you were being used." At that statement, Reno froze completely. Jenova cells? What was Genesis talking about?

"Yes, poor puppet of the Goddess, I am here to take your misery," the black-winged SOLDIER murmured, as if quoting a play. He reached up another red glove to run his thumb over Reno's left eye, which blinked in protest.

He was the host for Jenova? And not Cloud…Reno remembered all the pain and headaches, losing vision and the indescribable change that had come over his eye that one time he returned from his week-long hiatus; his iris and pupils had looked exactly like Sephiroth's.

_So that's what Creep-show has been doin' to me this whole time…_ Reno was fairly certain he'd be more disgusted if he wasn't currently being strangled to death. But, so lost in his sudden realization that he didn't realize what Genesis was doing until it was too late.

The red gloves reached their thumb and finger into his socket and ripped out his left eye, and suddenly Reno was screaming his vision blurring crimson. There was a distant flash of vision before the stem from his eye was cut and suddenly he was falling onto the ground, gasping for air, and his hands covering the bloody hole that used to be his left eye. He could barely see anything, and he didn't want to, he just wanted to die from the horrible pain. Turks were trained to take torture but this was just too much-

No, he could deal with this. He swore he'd survive no matter what and it didn't matter if he was missing an eye or twenty. His good eye was still leaking tears and he felt like doing nothing more than curling up and stabbing himself to die, but instead he force his shaky limbs to stand. Genesis was saying something, and so were the other Turks, but he didn't care. The adrenaline was making him stand up, and the adrenaline was going to help him kill the fucker that had his left eye between his gloved fingers-

* * *

_"Hey Lee, what do you think rain feels like?" Reno asked, looking up as his foster brother. Lee just sighed, running his hand through his slicked back red locks._

_"Well, I think it'd feel a bit like crying."_

_"What do you mean by that?"_

_"Well, water falls from your eyes when you're sad, so I guess, rain feels like water falling from the sky like that."_

_"Does that mean whenever it rains, the sky is sad?"_

_Lee just laughed, the little arrow tattoos on his face dancing, as he reached down to poke Reno in the forehead._

_"Idiot, the sky isn't alive!"_

_Years later, when he'd felt the rain for the first time, Reno wondered if Lee was really right about that. And now, when he finally knew what the blood red sword finally meant, he wondered if he could see the rain again; he wondered if the sky could cry for him._

* * *

Cloud rushed down, waiting in the elevator, which proved to be his undoing. The numbers ticked by slowly, too slowly, as he paced around the interior. He didn't know why he felt like he needed to get to the lobby, but he had to get there, or something terrible would happen. It was like Aerith's voice that warned him the first time he met Angeal, only it wasn't her speaking. Cloud gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to punch the controls, feeling the mako's strength surge through him.

Rin reminded this wasn't all about him anymore. He had people he needed to protect.

The elevator finally beeped and he didn't even wait for the doors to open fully before shooting through them. Looking down, he could see bodies and a black-winged man, and Cloud let out a shout. That was the second mistake and Cloud realized it as he skidded to a stop in front of a stand-off between Genesis and Reno.

The two were so focused on their fight between each other that neither had heard the blonde enter. Reno, hearing his friend's cry, turned around in surprise, and Genesis's eyes widened unable to stop himself as he stabbed the Turk through the chest.

* * *

Outside, people looked up in surprise as it began to rain.

 


	26. The Sky is Crying

_It was a very ironic first day as a Turk. He of course had to go through all this paperwork and all of that questioning, and changing into his uniform and everything . Meeting his partner, Rude, and meeting Veld. Tseng introduced the red-head to all the other Turks, who gave him curious looks, but otherwise welcomed him in._

_He finally felt like he was home, and safe, for the first time in his life._

_They were all laughing and having a good time when Reno heard something unusual on the roof of the Shinra building. It sounded like a bunch of pattering of tiny feet and he looked up curiously._

_"Hey Rude, what's that noise?" Reno asked his new partner._

_"Oh, that? Must be raining outside," the large man answered. A few sounds of delight rang around the room-it rarely ever rained in Midgar-but Reno froze in place, enough to make Tseng concerned._

_"Reno, are you okay?"_

_Reno never answered and instead ran for the nearest stairwell. The Turks all glanced among each other, wondering what the hell was wrong with this kid, but a few of them followed. Reno didn't stop, he could never, he never did, Lee had told him not to- he kept running and running, down the stairs, through the hallways, out the door until he could see the sky._

_It was night and the sky was dark, but when he looked up he saw the sky covered in clouds, and curiously enough, water was falling on his face. Water was falling everywhere, splashing around him, on his clothes, his hair, soaking him thoroughly._

_"It's raining?" He asked, standing out in the middle of it. "It's raining!"_

_He laughed and suddenly, he was a little kid again, splashing in every puddle, running around in circles and looking up at the sky as long as he could before all the water blinded him. It felt so great, so much better than the sun on his skin! It felt like he was being washed clean by the Planet itself._

_"You were right, it does feel like the sky is crying,": he muttered to himself, much to the confusion of the other Turks that had caught up to him. "I don't think it is though. I wouldn't feel happy if it was."_

_An indescribable feeling bubbled up in him as he looked up at the sky, the water sliding in clear droplets down his face. Why did he have to think of that memory now? Now, when he achieved everything he wanted. "Lee, it's raining! It's RAINING! Dear Minerva in heaven…."_

_He looked over as Rude and Tseng ran out to him, both concerned, and he realized the water was coming from his own eyes, even if he was still smiling._

_"Reno, are you okay?" Tseng asked gently._

_"You don't understand, it's raining. Everything's fine. It's raining Lee, it's fuckin' rainin'…." Reno buried his face into Rude's suit to stop himself from crying, but it didn't work._

_He didn't know how long they stood there, but Reno kept crying for the second time in his life, comforted by the sound of rain._

* * *

_"Hey, d'ya know why it suddenly rains sometimes when there's no clouds in the sky?" Zack had been visiting the church one beautiful morning while his disciple was in training. Aerith looked up from her garden, pursing her lips._

_"Zack Fair, are you trying to get me to go see the sky again?" She had such a serious look on her face that the first class almost believed her, but it quickly broke into a smile as she laughed lightly. "You should've seen your face!"_

_Zack smiled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I was just wondering, since you seemed to know a lot of stuff about this, and well, I saw it happen once, a long time ago. It confused me."_

_Aerith stood up fully, brushing off her dress as she thought. "Well, my mother told me a story when I was very little. She said if it started raining when there wasn't a cloud in sight, it meant the Planet was sad. Someone very close to it had died."_

_"That's silly. How can the sky have feelings like that?" Zack had laughed, but Aerith hadn't. Instead she looked thoughtfully into the distance._

_"I wonder, too."_

* * *

The bloody EMR fell to the ground, each hit echoing through Cloud's ears. It finally rolled to a stop directly at the blonde's feet but he didn't want to look at it. He didn't want to see the red that stained the ground, so he made the mistake of looking up again. Reno's eyes-oh Goddess, where did the other one go-slowly met his, widened in shock and pain, and all in one swift movement, he fell off the end of Genesis' sword.

Cloud rushed forward to grab him as he fell, the Turk collapsing fully into his arms. "Reno, it's okay, I've got you!"

The red-head was staring up at him as he settled to the ground, trying to concentrate on Cloud's face. "But I….didn't wanna….why?"

"It's okay, Reno! Don't do this to me!" He hated the red-head. He was annoying and stupid and was always playing tricks on him and he couldn't just leave him like that! He wasn't like Rin. He wasn't like the rest of them. He was a Turk!

"I-I-wanted to see it rain, Cloud. " Slowly, Reno's hand lifted up to almost touch the side of his face before collapsing on the ground, deathly still. Cloud slowly looked at the red-head's good eye, the only one Genesis had left him with, usually full of humor and life and devious energy, but now was a dull grey color. Staring into the distance. He wasn't seeing anything anymore.

"Reno?" He shook the Turk-the boy-gently, but he didn't answer. Cloud knew he wouldn't, but Reno had played tricks on him before. The third class couldn't stop his vision from blurring from tears as he looked up at Genesis,who was staring at the two in horror.

"You. You stole his life away. Some hero you are!" Cloud yelled, driving each word home as his anger slowly built. "He can no longer laugh, or feel sad, or cry, or play tricks on anyone again! Are you happy now? Is that what you're going to do to EVERYONHE?"

Genesis looked like he didn't know how to react, backing away from the angry SOLDIER. The Turks behind him had gotten up, looking at the body Cloud held between his arms. Cloud looked back down at Reno, who was too still, too scared and something inside of him snapped. All the green energy that surrounded him whenever he dreamed roared through him and everything began to glow.

" **You call yourself beloved of the Goddess, and yet you destroy those precious to her subjects?"** Cloud didn't quite know who was speaking anymore but he didn't care. He was angry and they were going to pay, for killing Rin, for killing Reno, hurting his friends. He was going to destroy them all.

**"You too are Jenova's cradle, and you too shall be destroyed."** Cloud gripped Reno's body tighter and let go over all the pent up energy inside of him, finally listening to the call of all the voices he could hear.

All over the building, every single materia exploded.

A wave of energy expanded out from the blonde SOLDIER, and every single monster it touched was killed and returned to dust. It ran along the hallways, racing through every single inch of the building, leaving behind it a line of dead monsters and exploded machinery. The SOLDIERs and troopers all stared in confusion as the light touched them and swept by them unharmed, only to describe it as a warm, comforting feeling later.

Spells were running rampant, destroying anything that had escaped with powerful magic and within minutes the building was cleared.

The ground underneath Cloud had shattered as the energy practically pulsed out of him, causing everyone in the lobby to stare at the glowing wings growing out of his back. If he had looked, he would've seen the ghost of armor appearing all over his body, a red eye centered on his stomach. Genesis backed away, fearing for his life and no one knew what to do. Would this strange being that had possessed Cloud attack and kill them all?

As Tseng in the others looked into Cloud's glowing eyes, they could still see some of the little SOLDIER left, but most of him had been replaced by whatever this was. And yet, it wasn't there to kill them. Instead of malice, the leader of the Turks saw a deep sadness and anger as the fingers curled around the red-head's prone body.

A few materia had broken free and were now hovering around Cloud. Tseng noted that they were all Cure materia, but….

"Cloud," He said, his voice suprisingly hoarse. "That's not going to work."

Nothing happened except the armor around the boy got more distinct, almost as if he was wearing a coat of green and yellow light.

"The Planet….took him….but I have to save everyone. I can't let him go!" He suddenly shouted, his voice almost returning to normal. Genesis had taken one look at the anger in the Golden Weapon's eyes and ran, fearing for what he had done.

Rude was the one to speak next, his fists tightly clenched, as were his eyes. "You can't save everyone. He's-"

All of the Turks were holding back their feelings, but Cloud just stood up and started to walk away. "I'm sorry. I'll try to save him. It's my fault he's gone…I'll try to save him. I'm sorry."

Cissnei called for him to come back, but no one dare to stop him.

* * *

Elmyra panicked when she heard a crash in the kitchen, only to return there and found Aerith collapsed on the ground her hands over her ears.

"Aerith! Aerith, dear whats wrong!" Elmyra ran over to her, immediately checking if her daughter was okay. She seemed unharmed, but for some reason, the girl was crying.

"He's dead," She sobbed. "He's dead and the Planet is crying because their Beloved is crying. They didn't want this to happen."

"Shhh, Aerith it's okay, everything will be fine," Elmyra said, gathering Aerith into her arms and rocking her slowly. "I'm sure it will all be okay.

* * *

Zack had wondered why it was raining in the middle of his battle with Neo Bahumet, but he was even more confused when the dragon suddenly stopped attacking him. Sephiroth was yelling something and pointing behind him, and Zack turned, only to see the shining moon and a dark figure riding a horse.

"Odin…" The first class breathed, as the summon drew his sword and the building began to rumble and shake around him.

"Let the summon deal with this! We need to follow Cloud!" Sephiroth grabbed his arm and dragged him along, away from the battle about to break out.

"Wait, but who summoned that? Why are all the monsters gone? Why are we following Cloud?" Zack asked frantically. He had a horrible feeling something was going on here, but he didn't know what. And it involved his student.

"We'll find out, now come," Sephiroth said, and Zack agreed, hurrying along to find out what happened to his friends.

* * *

No one had stopped him. He walked out of the Shinra building, flying up to the plate. The edge, that's what he was looking for. All around him, the green energy was roaring, a thousand voices shouting at him at once. Why hadn't he killed Genesis? Was it because, for a very brief moment, the man had looked as scared and upset as he was? But why had he-

Cloud's grip grew tighter as he kept walking, holding Reno to himself. Maybe if he kept walking and kept flying and kept destroying everything evil…..something compelled him to move to the edge of the plate. The Lifestream was calling him.

The ground dissolved where he walked, and any monsters that got in his way were brutally destroyed, until finally, everything left him alone.

Cloud stopped at the edge of the plate. "For borne on the wings of the Crimson Herald, the Golden Weapon rose to save the Planet from the Calamity once again."

He heard a shuffle behind him and there was Zack, his friend, his beloved friend. No one else mattered, he didn't care if they were there. Just Zack.

Cloud turned around, ready to fall.

"Cloud please." The plea was quiet and gentle, and he could hear the pain in his friends voice, but the noise was growing too much. Cloud couldn't bear it anymore.

"I will save everyone," He said, holding Reno close, close as he should have all these months and weeks. "This is my final promise, Zack."

And he fell.

And Zack screamed and shouted and ran forward, but he was too late.

He watched as his two best friends fell into the Lifestream and vanished.

* * *

_And so we of the Lifestream watch as our hope is reborn in the form of a Golden angel._


	27. A White Rose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quick note: I happened upon a official piece of art that labelled Cloud's mother as being 33 at Crisis Core times and that her official name is Claudia Strauss/Strife. That's where this character comes from.

A long ways away, Angeal tried to keep up his flight and failed. He was carrying Yuffie, who was screaming the entire way, but that wasn't a burden. Freed from his sword, Angeal thought he could make it, he could stop his friend from becoming the monster Hollander so wanted, but it was all in vain.

A few white feathers rained from the sky as Angeal's muscles finally gave out, a sharp pain lanced through his back and he fell. Yuffie was crying and praying to whatever gods she could to not die in the air, so Angeal curled up around her and broke the fall, slamming into the ground and sending her flying.

_I…have to keep going…._ Angeal told himself as he tried to force his leaden limbs to move. He got a couple feet before collapsing into the light dusting of snow again, the pain too overwhelming. There was no point. He couldn't keep going at all, and he didn't know why he tried. Genesis would never listen to him…it was better left to Sephiroth and his own student…

A small voice was yelling at him, and there were equally small hands tugging at his arm, trying to lift him.  _Oh right, I had forgotten._

After he'd left his duties and his sword to Zack, he was to be done of the whole mess, but the person who kept him fighting was not only the memory of his student and the small blonde face that had saved his life, but also Yuffie. She was there to keep him from getting lonely, and to remind him why he became SOLDIER in his own head.

Angeal could only blame his experiments for making him so deluded that he thought he could abandon the world. Jenova was degrading and eating his mind, the same with Genesis.

"I won't…let you…" Angeal growled, attempting to push himself upwards, only to collapse on the ground again in agony. Each muscle movement sent torrents of pain down his body, and even the light reflected off the snow was hurting his eyes. He could barely move, and he could feel himself shedding hairs and feathers everywhere as he rolled onto his back. As much as it hurt him to know, he couldn't go on. He could very well perish here in the unnamed snow.

_I leave it up to you, Yuffie…_

* * *

Yuffie felt like throwing up all over everything. She hadn't wanted to fly, but she didn't want to just abandon her newest bodyguard in the middle of nowhere. To tell the truth, she was a bit scared and didn't want to go back home-she was in so much trouble and they'd probably just tell her she couldn't go out and have adventures anyway. Plus, the guy had some amazing materia.

She had curled up on the snow for a minute, having had a near-death experiment, but Yuffie was nothing if hardy. She slowly sat up, checking that she was all there and she really was alive, before her stomach grumbled again at the movement. That all went away when she saw the big guy hiss in pain and just stay there on the ground. Normally Angeal would keep getting up after she or a monster hit him, but this time he didn't. Her upset stomach stopped being dumb as she ran over to the pile of SOLDIER and tried to lift him up again.

"Angeal, you big meanie! You're not supposed to drop us in the middle of nowhere! Get up!" She yelled at his face, but he didn't answer. He just collapsed on his back and closed his eyes. Panicking only slightly, she jumped up onto his chest and waved her arms in his face. "Wake up! Wake up, you're supposed to wake up!"

She was crying now, like she was crying the whole way down. It was so unfair! She had a new friend and now he was dead or something in the snow and she was stranded in the middle of nowhere!

"Angeal, get up! Get up get up get up!" She sobbed, kicking the side of his arm, but the big man didn't even respond to that. Normally he'd just give her a stern glare and walk off but he wasn't even doing that.

Okay, okay, she admitted it. She liked this guy and not just for his materia. And now it was up to her, the White Rose of Wutai, to help him, like he always did for her. After all, a good ninja always looked after her bodyguards. Pocketing a couple of his materia-to help her, of course-she set off in what looked like a good direction.

* * *

Vincent had decided to stay in Cosmo Canyon for the time being to put his Turk skills to the use and research more into Cloud's father and the WEAPONs, being kept company by a large lion and a robotic cat. Cait Sith kept hopping between him and Bugenhagen, asking many questions, which the old man was very interested in answering, commenting on how interested the cat was in the Planet. Vincent himself wondered what this Reeve was up to; was he plotting to use this information for the good of Shinra, or was it merely curiosity?

He kept his eye on the cat anyway. It was suspicious, to say the least. Nanaki, on the other hand, was very eager to help him, having warmed up the the retired Turk almost immediately. He would keep fetching books for Vincent and other things, occasionally putting his paws up onto his desk to read along.

Vincent had once asked him where the rest of his kind was, but Nanaki just looked away and refused to answer.

Uther Strife had written a few more entries, especially focusing on the Golden Weapon phenomenon, as he called it, but a lot of the files alluded to the storybook given to his son, as well as something called LOVELESS.

' _I have never studied in Cosmo Canyon, though it is a dream of mine to do so. Instead, I struck up a written correspondence with the elder of the village. He told me many things of use in the line of my research, but there were two things that stood out to me. One was this so-called wanderlust hidden in the minds of many people; he said that some people were descended from the Cetra, and therefore still had some of their blood running through their veins, however small. This caused them to feel more connected to the Planet than normal humans, often resulting in them wandering the earth. Others were drawn to the feeling that they had something greater to accomplish, and oftentimes, they did. How common this was, the man never said. Only that those who seek knowledge were the children of the Planet._

_The other thing was about this Golden Weapon that keeps appearing in my discoveries. I have yet to decide whether this relates to the similar story in Cloud's little book I gave him, but I have a feeling it is. Supposedly, the Lifestream is living with a will of its own almost, composed of all the living things on the Planet. It powers the cycle of life and death, and also of the earth itself. The Cetra knew they could not stop the Calamity, and that someday she would be uncovered and rise again, so they had crafted WEAPONS. Them in harmony with the Planet, created monsters._

_Except for the Golden WEAPON. For some reason, they spoke of a human soul, forged of hope and sent to rid the world of its disease. Not a Cetra, but a human. I cannot fathom how this came to be.'_

Vincent blinked and looked up from the page. No wonder Shinra wanted this information to be destroyed; it shook their understanding of the Planet to the core, which would inevitably lead Uther into discovering Shinra's hidden secrets. That they were attempting to recreate the Ancients, starting with Sephiroth.

Only Hojo had other ideas and what those were, Vincent didn't know or care. He was just there to stop him. He stood up, his cape flaring out, startling Nanaki from his nap. "It's all so confusing…" he muttered, passing Nanaki to go outside and stare at the sky.

"What's wrong Vincent?" The lion asked, having followed him outside.

"It's all so confusing. The more I read, the less I know. It's hard to accept." He buried his face further in his cloak to not betray his uneasiness.

"I am sorry. I wish I could help you, but I am merely a cub. I don't think even Grandfather understands what the Planet wants," Nanaki said, sitting on his haunches next to the Turk. The balcony was quiet, for Vincent didn't speak, merely pondering what the lion said.

"But it involves your friends, doesn't it? So you should fight with them," he hesitantly continued. "Your understanding will come in time."

"Hm. Wise words for a cub."

Nanaki made an odd huffing sound that could've passed for a laugh. "That's just what Grandfather told me."

* * *

It didn't take Yuffie long to find someone at all. It took her even less time to somehow get lost, but how was she not supposed to when everything looked all white? It didn't snow as much in Wutai, so she didn't know how to deal with it. Either way, hefting her trusty shuriken by her side, she happened quickly upon a strange woman.

She had bright yellow hair pulled back into a ponytail, and was wearing a dress with an apron on the front. More interesting, she seemed to be fairly young for an adult and was wielding a large, heavy axe. Yuffie stopped so hurriedly she skidded into the snow, holding up her giant weapon. "Who goes there?!"

The blonde woman turned in surprise, hefting her axe. She obviously hadn't been expecting a small child, probably a monster of some sorts. Either way, the woman stared at her, wary. "I could ask the same for you."

"I'm Yuffie of Wu-I'm Yuffie, the White Rose! And I'm a ninja! Now who are you?" She said, remembering at the last minute that Angeal had told her not to tell strangers she was from Wutai. In case they were Shinra people.

The woman lowered her axe, staring at the girl curiously. "Well, that's certainly an interesting title. What are you doing so far out here? Could it be you know about the rumor an angel fell from the sky?"

Yuffie's eyes widened. "You saw him? You saw Angel-I mean Angeal? He fell from the sky! But you weren't supposed to see his wings!"

"So you're with him? I guess my worries about it being a monster were unfounded. Is he okay?" She asked, setting the axe again on her back and scanning the landscape.

"No he's not, and I was going to look for help and I found you but I'm lost! I don't know where he went! And you never told me your name, meanie!" Yuffie said, tears blinking into her eyes again. The lady immediately smiled and knelt down, putting a hand on the ninja's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I got distracted. My name is Claudia Strife, but you can just call me Claudia. Don't worry, I'll go and help you find your friend so we can fix him, does that sound good to you?"

Yuffie nodded, wiping away any tears-tears were dumb and for babies-and then grabbed Claudia's arm, dragging her off.

The lady obviously was from around here, as she knew exactly where Angeal was when she prompted Yuffie for a description. She liked Claudia; she reminded her a bit of her own mom and just seemed very trustworthy, despite the big axe. In minutes, they found Angeal again, who hadn't moved.

"His wing is gone and he just fell down here!" Yuffie said angrily, kicking at his arm.

"Hey, stop that! That's rude!" Claudia chided, pulling Yuffie back and going to look at the man himself. After looking for injuries or a pulse or something, Claudia decided she didn't know anything and stood up again.

"I don't know whats wrong, but we should get him inside. It's probably going to be storming again soon, and he'd die out here." Claudia said, her hands on her hips.

"So? We need to get him inside! He's my bodyguard, he's not supposed to die!" Yuffie punctuated what she was saying by jumping up and down furiously.

"Calm down, calm down, dear. Of course we're going to help him. I just…need help to get him inside. He's a bit heavier than a pile of firewood."

Yuffie was already down by one of Angeal's massive arms and was already attempting to drag him along. It was a futile effort, but she did at least have to try, so Claudia got on the other side of Angeal and lifted up his arm.

"We can do this," She huffed, putting the limb over her shoulder, as Yuffie pulled with all her might and managed to lift him up at least a little bit.

"Fuckin' hell, I wish my son was here to help me, but he's just a scrawny," Claudia muttered to herself. Yuffie didn't really say anything as she was concentrating to much on dragging the large man mountain towards wherever Claudia lived, but she thought the older woman was pretty funny.

The two of them forged on, half-dragging Angeal in the snow, since Claudia was doing most of the work. Yuffie got tired very quickly, and while she was very strong for an eight-year old, she was still very small herself. Yuffie heard Claudia mutter several swear words-that she probably wasn't supposed to hear-as they kept going.

"I hate SOLDIER, what does this man eat?" She kept grumbling. "I swear he better be grateful when we get him back!"

The little ninja looked back at the Angeal shaped drag marks and back to the village that was coming into view. "Are we..almost…there yet?"

"Yeah. My house is on the outskirts…." Claudia didn't say much more and after a brief rest in the snow, they dragged him the rest of the way there, not even pausing to speak. Claudia seemed surprised the other villagers hadn't left to see what the ruckus was but it worked. Yuffie knew that Shinra people weren't supposed to know they were there, and this Claudia didn't seem like a Shinra person.

The pair left Angeal unceremoniously on the floor as they rested their aching limbs. Claudia sighed and slid a few stray hairs out of her eyes as she gazed down at the sick man.

"Okay, Yuffie, do you mind telling me why this man is an angel and what you're doing here?"

* * *

Vincent had been standing out in front of Bugenhagen's house again when it happened. He'd only been listening to the peaceful sound of the wind when suddenly his skin felt hot all over and the beasts whispering inside of him grew to a roar.

Vincent fell over, clutching at his head as Chaos, his deepest held secret, thrashed inside his soul, driving him near mad with the constant noise and pain. Perhaps if he hadn't been overwhelmed, he would've seen his three companions rush over to him, but Vincent was far too gone.

He was lost in the sea of darkness again, nothing but green light and pain and surrounded by death, agony, terror,  _pain, pain, pain, killing everything, blue eyes a flash of crimson red and two bodies were falling, falling towards the Lifestream and dissolving away, deep inside of him Chaos screamed as he felt the anger of the Planet and the Goddess course through him-he was just a tool after all, a WEAPON himself and now another one had disappeared-_

Vincent didn't know what way was up and his vision was blurry, but slowly, slowly, his muscles began to relax and his skin began to cool off. He vaguely tasted blood from where he'd bit his tongue and cut his own face with his gauntlet, but the Turk shrugged off his pain. It was nothing compared to the agony he'd been through.

"Vincent, Vincent, are you okay?" He felt a soft nose nuzzling him, and looked up into the concerned eyes of Nanaki, his grandfather right behind him. "You just collapsed all of a sudden!"

Vincent merely shook his head, attempting to stand up, but staggering and having to use Bugenhagen as a crutch. He felt odd and wobbly, like he was detached from reality, and his head was all fuzzy. He still could hear Chaos screaming inside of him, but it was quieter this time, less pain inducing.

"I'm…it was Chaos. Something upset him," He muttered darkly, the old man floating him over to a bench where he could sit.

"Hm, what could possibly upset a being like Chaos? He is borne of the Lifestream, so maybe something that angered the Planet?" Bugenhagen pondered. Vincent was about to say more but Cait Sith bounded over with a sense of urgency the retired Turk had never seen.

"Mr. Valentine, someone attacked Shinra! They're sayin' it was Genesis and there be monsters everywhere, an' I los' contact with them!" Cait Sith said, running up to Vincent's leg.

"You mean, Reeve?" He asked, staring quizzically at the doll. The cat had never before spoken of his creator as a separate entity and suddenly, he was worried.

"I'm about t' power down, but I'm worried. Shinra's under attack an' people have died!" Cait Sith blurted out before finally collapsing on the ground, obviously out of commission. Vincent's eyes widened, thinking about Sephiroth and Cloud, but as soon as he stood up, the world swam in and out of focus and he nearly collapsed again.

"I need…"

"You don't need to do anything, son. You're sick and whatever Shinra is dealing with, they'll have to do without you," Bugenhagen said sternly as he felt a furry paw against his head, laying him down.

The old man was right, even if Vincent was loathe to admit it. He was in no condition to fight.

 


	28. ---Interlude---

_We stood in the strands of time, surrounded by the Lifeblood of the Planet itself. The ebb and flow of dreams feelings life of hope and despair and pain and suffering suffering disease war death life birth We stood in the Lifestream and watched as Our dream died and faded into dust._

_We slowly slid together, though we were one on the outside, We were now together as one, bonded by life and soul and the green thread was the one who tied Us together. Were We Cetra? No, no no no ordinary humans humans cannot survive the death and rampage the poison of the world_

_We are human and born as that we were born as hope borne high as the Golden WEAPON 'the Golden WEAPON, borne on the wings of his Crimson herald, so he may bring hope to us all…_

_Wait? What was a Crimson Herald? I heard that name before._

_I slowly separated and opened My eyes. Behold, it is I, the Goddess of the moon and sun, the temple shrouding the heart of the world, the bringer of light and death._

_"Minerva?"_

_Yes, I am Minerva. You recognize me, do you not? We joined together again and no longer was I separate but I could feel Him awaken inside of me too. He could not speak or say his turn, but his blood lay red like flames for Icarus had flown too close to the sun._

_"She will destroy all of you if you let her." The Lady in white and gold spoke again, her voice echoing over the chasms of our once again separating souls. We could not let that happen._

_She will destroy you and you and everyone who lives and the Lifestream will wither and die._

_I focused on the voice, trying to find what was important. I had no time to dilly-dally. I remember, I remember remember remember him remember something important._

_"Do you remember what your promise is, little one?"_

_I opened my eyes and beheld Her in all of Her glory, for she was more beautiful than the sun and the moon and the sky. Her hair radiated gold and She shone with a brilliance and life unmatched by My puny words. I was truly in awe. This was the goddess of the Planet? I had heard her as the destroyer of worlds, but she was so kind when she smiled at me._

_"The Planet loves you Cloud. We would never truly abandon you." Her voice was a million honey and golden soaked words, wrapped in the lace of a mother's coat._

_"Why do you love me? Why did you pick me? I…I remember it hurts!"_

_Minerva's face darkened in the madness. "I love you as you were my own child, but you're lost and you need to leave. It's not your time, little one."_

_"I don't want to be here." I shook my head and golden hair, as fair as Her own fell and shook around me. If I ever did look closely, my armor as her WEAPON resembled hers. I was not a beast or a monster, I was a warrior._

_"Very few do, Champion. But the tread of time passes, and legend passes, and the Cetra cried out for help. And their help was you. You are our precious hope, and I believe in you."_

_Golden tears filled my near Golden eyes because the goddess herself sounded like my mother. "You are She, are you not? You are her, so why do you believe in a person like me? I am merely a tool!"_

_"Are you, child of the sun? I chose your soul for a reason, for despite all of your complaining, you would not take life or advice from others. You are your own soul."_

_"My own soul? Everyone wants me to be a hero or a monster."_

_"I call you neither. I call you my own."_

_"You still call me a WEAPON."_

_"One question, little Cloud. If I had not given you my Grace, wouldn't you still have done all that you had anyway?"_

_"….."_

_"And that is why I picked you. I love you Cloud, and so does the Planet. We will not let you die so easily, but the rest of the battles are up to you, our hope."_

_"You killed him. You let him die."_

_"He is your angel, is he not? You read the book."_

_"Bring him back!"_

_Minerva's eyes flashed in a light only I could see but I was scared. I was demanding too much of her and her green-pool eyes and her light and death_

_"What makes you think he has not already passed peacefully?"_

_"He told me he wanted to see it rain. It rains when you cry, doesn't it? He loves the rain."_

_"He likes it when I am sad?"_

_"No, he likes it when beautiful things come out of being sad. As you are."_

_Minerva's fire and rain and ash continued, darkening the green skies around Her, but slowly it softened into a warm daybreak. "I have never been loved, nor have I loved."_

_"You said you loved me."_

_"You are special, my Cloud. He is not. The child who loves the rain?"_

_"Please."_

_I could see into time and space and love when I was here in the Lifestream and I could tell the infinite sorrow that went into her heart. 'The man who had written LOVELESS originally said he got inspiration from finding a glimpse of the Goddess herself, for loveless she was.'_

_"My other children have displeased me, but you, oh Golden Weapon, I send again to bring hope into the world, for we and I too believe it. The Lifestream believes, and thus, do I."_

_A hand a wave and a rush of feeling and green and whirling around and I could see everything and everyone, Zack leaning over a desk, in feeling, no don't be sad, I will be with you soon, Angeal and a girl, they were travelling travelling I need to find him and Genesis, oh the Goddess's child, how you have sunk so low and become a monster_

_A great darkness in the Northern Cave a great darkness rose and I could see creatures everywhere mutants mutated the Calamity can shift forms she killed the Ancients and now she comes for Us-_

_We were one again, on the circle of life and death, with power and hate, and all We can see is green, green, more green a raging fire that never burned and yet our feet never left the rock_

_There was a flash of red and suddenly I too was separate, and looking in the face of an Angry Goddess. I had heard many people describe her but she is too terrifying and beautiful to describe. The heart of the Planet, well, I knew you always hated me._

_"Do you like it when it rains?"_

_"Yeah, why?"_

_"Why do you like it when it rains?"_

_"Well, when it does, I feel clean, and I feel better. And I can cry knowing someone else does. Plus, it always looks beautiful after it rains, yo. I love it when it rains. Everything is soft and quiet."_

_"Do I truly look that way when I cry?"_

_"What? Are you the sky? Lee-Lea-Lee told me the sky doesn't have any feelings."_

_I must have angered her for the sky grew dark and so did my soul and I felt like I was drowning again, and all I could feel were the encroaching hands of terror and disgust and fear and the Goddess's deadly eyes and spear. Every word came from her soul and killed me all over again._

_"I do not have feelings, for I am Loveless. But you, you little bird, little angel, little Icarus burned in the sun, you do. And you do not rest quietly do you?"_

_"I don't want to leave him. I don't want to go."_

_"Then you won't, for I love him too." The goddess's eyes grew close and I could feel her breath coiling my skin, breaking my bones and turning me to ash again, as the sun did. "But listen to me, my little devil. You are bound to Him and you will serve him, and if the time so comes, you will die for Him."_

_A hand in my too red hair a hair as red as the blood that kept spilling out of my broken heart and now my mind was breaking and all I could feel was electricity and pain and death thunder thunder, Odin, please help me_

_Rivers of red, since when was my hair that long and since when did it go with green but I accepted, I did not want to die so much pain in store for you little one but you will survive, I have seen you_

_"And I have made you. And in time, I may love you too, but first you must repay your debt to me. You are the herald to my precious Golden Weapon, the knight in his honor. Rise, Crimson Devil."_

_Monsters monsters pain a flash of black armor and mako and I could remember who I was now and everything but everything was coming into too much focus and-_

* * *

Everything came into sharp focus as Cloud opened his eyes, breathing harshly through his mouth. Turning over, he coughed up water from his mouth, rubbing at his sand filled eyes. That dream…

Cloud jolted up, sitting down hard when his head spun around in circles. The bloodstains were still there on his torn up uniform and he felt utterly  _coated_ in mako. It was a terrible feeling.

He ignored everything and shakily stood up, staring at the horizon like it would give him some answers. What had happened to him? And more importantly, what about Reno?

He only got a few steps before collapsing in the sand again, blissfully fading aways and the faint patter of chocobo steps came near.

* * *


	29. You Are not Alone

The only thing he could see in his sleep was the frozen faces of Reno and Rin, twisted in their masks of death. Afraid they would chase him into his waking mind, Cloud kept his eyes shut as he became slowly aware of his surroundings. Because of his nightmares, he couldn't figure out what he had dreamed and what he hadn't. Had talking to the Goddess been real? Was what she said right? And Reno….

Cloud remembered Reno's look as the life faded straight from his eyes and he was thankful he hadn't been around to see that happen to Rin. His friend, his friend was dead-

_Do you really doubt me that bad?_

Oh yeah. That was right. He had talked to the Goddess about him. Wasn't he supposed to save everyone?

Something very soft and fluffy assaulted his face and Cloud coughed, suddenly opening his eyes. The first thing he saw in his vision was a large feathery, black head that was pecking away at his hair.

"The fuck?" The last thing he remembered was falling and then washing up on a shoreline. What was a chocobo doing here?

The chocobo squawked and then beat its wings a few times, climbing up on the bed and sitting on Cloud's legs. The blonde SOLDIER was still confused as to just WHY there was a bird in his room when he looked back at it again. It was a bit familiar, wasn't it?

"Wait a minute, Zack?" Cloud asked, and the little chocobo warbled in agreement. "Zack, it is you!"

Cloud reached his arms out and hugged the bird, burying his face in the soft feathers, not caring about his legs getting crushed by the weight.

"I'm so glad to see you," Cloud mumbled, embarrassed that tears were welling up in his eyes. Was he really that weak? It had felt like he'd spent the entirety of his life in a dream and was worried that all of his friends were dead and gone, but here was his little chocobo from the adventure that had started it all.

There was a scrambling outside the door to his room-he realized now he was inside someone's house-and it suddenly opened. A fairly short man with a scraggly beard entered, looking oddly like some of the people in Nibelheim.

"Oh, so ya do know tha' bird? Explains why he's been goin' nuts ever since we've found you." The man had a gruff accent too, which told Cloud he was probably out in the country somewhere.  _Did I seriously travel that far?_

"Yeah…I bought him awhile back, but I returned to Midgar so I had to give him up…who are you?" Cloud asked, trying to shake his head clear of the fog that his dreams and nightmares left him in. Everything still felt a bit surreal to him, even as he pushed the heavy bird off of his bed.

"People around here call me Choco Billy, kid. You washed up on the beach by the chocobo farm, an' you were lucky I was out trainin' summa them when you did. You woulda been monster feed otherwise."

"Wait, did you say the chocobo farm?" While talking to Zack and Reno, he'd heard of one far out to the east of Midgar, past Kalm and everything. How on Gaia had he made it that far? Was it because of the Lifestream? And if he ended up here…then where the hell was Reno?

"Yes sir, I did. If you say you're from Midgar, you musta travelled an awful long way to get here. What the hell happened to ya? When I found ya, you were incoherent an' your eyes were glowin' somethin' fierce!" Billy said, shooing the bird out of the room himself.

Cloud tried to get up, only to wince back into the bed. Everything about him hurt and his senses were going haywire, causing him to feel more than a little nauseous. "I don't really know. I don't remember. How long was I out?"

Well, it wasn't a total lie. He still didn't know what was going on, but talking like this made him stop thinking about dead bodies.

"A week, maybe? It was hard to tell. Sometimes your eyes were open, but you weren't moving. It was creepy," Choco Billy answered, coming closer to the bed. Cloud just narrowed his eyes at him and he stopped in his tracks.

"Sorry." A week? Longer than he expected, but Cloud could deal with that. It was Zack and Sephiroth and Angeal he was worried about, since the last time he'd seen most of them was when he was falling to his supposed death. "I have to use a phone."

"You're goin' nowhere until you eat something, kid! I jus' said you've been in bed for a week!" The farmer's rough hands shoved him down again and Cloud, getting the hint, just stayed there. He really didn't feel up for a fight with someone.

"Fine."

Then Choco Billy left him in silence and Cloud had time to think. Since he didn't want to even touch the dreams he had and the horrible, nervous feeling they caused, he just dwelled upon the strange power he now felt inside of him.

Painfully aware now that it meant he was a chosen WEAPON of the Planet, Cloud thought back to all the times he'd gone crazy with materia or even the odd blackout with Sephiroth in the Shinra mansion-even the odd dreams with Aerith. He had an explanation for it now but…did that mean he wasn't as strong as he thought he was?

It had all been the Planet's doing to save Angeal, and stop Sephiroth from Jenova speaking to him, and just all of it. It hadn't been him. "I really have been a failure, haven't I?"

He had a vague feeling that if Zack and Aerith were around, they would smack him for thinking this way, but they weren't. He…

_Oh what the hell am I saying? I really am wallowing in my own misery!_ Cloud smacked himself on the side of the head. It didn't make him feel any better. He liked the idea that he was finally getting stronger on his own, that maybe he was special and he could do it, but it turns out it was the Planet's doing. Even Hojo being interested in him, everything. He was just Cloud, and for some reason Minerva decided to mess with his life.

"You at least better have given Reno back. You owe me that much," he muttered darkly into his hands.

* * *

After Choco Billy had forced some food on him, Cloud finally felt well enough to walk around, so he followed the man out to his farm to help him out with the birds. He felt a bit guilty about just sitting around in the man's house, taking up space, so he could at least do something in return. Billy hadn't been complaining that much either, saying how Cloud had a bit of a 'way with the chocobos', as he declared. As soon as he left the house, Zack accosted him, puffing his feathers and pecking at Cloud's hair.

"Ugh, why won't he leave me the hell alone?" Cloud asked, shoving the black bird's beak away for the fourth time. Now the idiot chocobo had taken to rubbing his head against him.

"Chocobos are very loyal to the ones they consider their companion. He was obviously worried about you an' now he's tellin' you how happy he is that you're okay. Chocobos are very loyal like that." Billy didn't seem to care that he repeated himself, just opening up the barn doors and letting out the wildest waft of bird scent there ever was.

"I never know that," Cloud said, accepting the brush Billy gave him and starting to go over to the birds.

"Yeah, well, most people see 'em as glorified pack animals. They don' know how smart and graceful these birds are. You. STAY OUT!" He yelled at Zack, who was still attempting to follow Cloud like a puppy. He smiled sadly at the comparison, then turned back to the green chocobo he was brushing.

"I really like them. They've always seemed smart to me." He said quietly, running his fingers through the soft feathers to make sure they were all aligned properly.

"Ahah, that's a good answer. Best animals on the Planet, I say! They can drive away any monster, an' yet people use them like the ungrateful little-"

"Do you breed some of yours to race?" Cloud interrupted smoothly, knowing that rant was going nowhere good.

"Nah. Too much work. But if you bought some stalls from me you're more than welcome to try yourself. You might even get yourself a Golden chocobo!"

"You haven't been talking to Zack Fair about that, have you?"

"Oh, Zack? Haha, of course I have! Great kid. Helped me out with some monsters problems around the farm and the Kalm area a few times. Bad for business, y'know. Even sent me that little runt, askin' me to take care of him for a friend. Guess you're the friend he was talkin' about!" Billy laughed.

As Cloud moved onto sweeping the floor of the barn, taking it easy because his legs still felt a bit like jelly, he remembered that conversation.  _Zack said he could send my chocobo somewhere he'd be taken care of; I guess he meant this place._ Ironic then, he'd end up here, but at least he'd have a safe mode of transport so he could find the real Zack again. The only problem was getting to him, because Cloud was certainly not going to Midgar.

Billy once again interrupted his thoughts and the SOLDIER just stopped completely in the middle of the barn. "Say, since you're obviously a SOLDIER and all, do you know anything about that big fiasco in Midgar?"

Cloud's eyes widened, and he nearly dropped the broom. Fuck, they heard about it all the way out here already? What details had gotten out? Did they know about Cloud's freak-out and Reno- _No, stop right there._

"Th-the attack lead by Genesis? No, not really. I-wasn't really involved in that." A cold feeling settled in the blonde's stomach as he remembered finally the kind of damage he'd done to Genesis' forces and the building itself. Sure, he hadn't really been in control of that and it felt horribly surreal to him, but that was what scared him. What if he was being hunted as a monster now? What if Hojo was already sending out SOLDIERs and Turks to look for him? He couldn't let people know!

"Shame. There ain't that much information about it even after all this time." Billy said, opening all the gates. Cloud was about to ask him what he meant by that when he nearly got trampled by a horde of excited birds, that were now roaming the fence outside, grazing. He gave up on conversation and just went to go stand in front of the fence, trying to figure out what to do next.

He supposed he had to make his way out to Midgar area then, despite what happened, and try to find some way to contact Zack. And then he remembered Vincent, who was all the way out in Cosmo Canyon, who had a secure line directly to the General himself. That was a much better idea if he was trying to be stealthy, and Cosmo Canyon itself was notoriously anti-Shinra.

It was decided. He'd head west to Cosmo Canyon and try to contact his friends. It was just pure luck that he was dropped off by a place where his chocobo was being kept. Or was it really just luck…Cloud shook his head. No time to get into exstatential debates with himself.

He helped out around the farm a little bit more, making sure he himself was okay, and to get supplies for the trip as well. What bothered the SOLDIER the most was that he was without his weapon, leaving him with no way to defend himself or acquire money from monsters. He'd have to stop off in Kalm on his way there, hopefully.

"Things have been goin' south for Shinra ever since the attack, y'know. And if you see Zack, make sure he's okay? No one's seen him or his friends since he defected a month ago." Billy said offhandedly, causing Cloud to freeze in the middle of saddling his chocobo.

"What did you say?"

"Zack and the great General himself, Sephiroth, both defected from Shinra a month ago after the attack, an' no one rightly knows why. A couple of witnesses says it's 'cause a friend of their's died in the attack-" The farmer got to say no more as Cloud rushed past him, gathering his meager supplies together and attaching them to his bird. A month? He'd been gone a MONTH? And what's more, Zack and Sephiroth were missing!

_Oh, fuck, oh dear Minerva in heaven, please let them be okay?_ He trusted them to not go down Genesis' path, but with Jenova on the loose, who knew what could happen? Plus….

_They think I'm dead, don't they? Zack, I'm so sorry, I know I promised._

Billy was confused as to why the blonde SOLDIER was panicking so much, but Cloud had no time for him. He had to get moving now, and Vincent and Cosmo Canyon was his best bet. That is, if the man was still there after all this time.

A low warble from the fence caught his attention just enough to where he reluctantly turned towards the enclosure. "What the hell do you want? I'm not giving you scratches!"

The yellow chocobo shook itself and fluffed out its feathers, having the gall to almost look offended. Why he was doing this, he didn't know, but the bird wanted to tell him something. As odd as that sounded. The chocobo dipped its beak down and Cloud slowly reached out his hand, letting the bird drop a small red stone into it. Confused, he brought it up to his face, only to realize it was, in fact a summon stone.

_What the…?_ Curious, he poked at it with his mind, only to have it warble back. It seemed to be more animal-like than Odin, but just as intelligent.

"You gave me a Chocobo summon?" Cloud asked numbly, looking up at the bird, who was passively watching him. It warked back, almost in affirmation and trotted away, leaving behind a very confused Cloud. Did chocobos normally hand out materia to people? Or had the Goddess somehow given him a gift?

Either that, or the chocobos just really wanted to help him. He quickly shook himself out of his daze and shoved the stone away next to the Odin that had, for some inexplicable reason, stayed with him. Cloud swung himself over Zack, ready to leave, when Billy finally came up to him.

"Look kid, I dunno what's gotten you so worried, but..I jus' wanted to say good luck, kid. You'll need it if you're doin' what I think you're doin'."

Cloud nodded in thanks and saluted before turning left and leaving.

* * *

He did actually make it to Kalm and was able to buy a sword of dubious quality by helping guard a caravan of what appeared to be traveling merchants to the city. There he picked up some more information about what exactly had transpired in the apparent month he'd been gone, though it was very unclear.

Looking around, he was almost expecting huge changes in technology and futuristic clothing, and had to keep reminding himself it was a month. No big deal. Right?

That did not help the faces that kept haunting him at night. When he was riding Zack with the wind, it was okay. He could keep trying to outrun the bad thoughts and do everything he could to distract himself, from labeling every landmark and even going out of his way to fight monsters, but it didn't help at night. He'd curl up next to his black bird and he'd go to sleep, constantly pushing away the darkness in his mind and the noise that wouldn't leave him alone. He woke up almost more exhausted than when he fell asleep.

Cloud almost wished he had a music player, for that is what sustained him in the years before he'd ever met Zack, but he had no such help now. Just him, his bird, and the night full of monsters and demons. He was glad no one was around to see him shaking from keeping all the feelings in and sometimes, he was wondering just why he was trying so hard.

Rin had died, and so had Reno. And he was just a monster created by the Planet to kill all its enemies and now his friends were missing or worse.

It was particularly bad one night outside of Costa Del Sol when he felt so physically and mentally tired he just collapsed outside of the city. Cloud knew he should eat something; despite his mako, he was really bordering on underweight again, but he couldn't bring himself to do anything. He didn't want to do it, and he didn't want to suffer through another night of trying to sleep. He didn't want to see Rin's and Reno's faces when he closed his eyes.

"Zack, where are you?" He mumbled into the ground, curled up in the tightest ball possible. He needed his friend. He was so weak right now; he needed his friend and his savior because he was so useless. "I'm sorry. I don't want to do this."

It began to rain again and he knew he should move, but it was again, too much effort. Maybe if he fell asleep here, he wouldn't feel the horrible twisting in his stomach every time he thought about…that. A soft warble came and the rain suddenly stopped hitting his body. Cloud looked up to see Zack the chocobo, standing over him and staring at him curiously?

_Why are you sitting out in the rain, you wierd human?_ He seemed to say, settling down and spreading one of his wings over the shivering boy. Cloud gratefully turned towards the feathers, feeling himself start to cry. He cried and he couldn't stop as he told everything to the bird, who sat there gently, nuzzling his head every time he paused. He didn't know how long it was that he stayed there, talking to the bird, but eventually he stopped crying and felt tired.

Cloud dreaded going to sleep, but curled up against Zack's side, he was oddly comforted. Nothing could reach him while this bird was here, despite it only being an animal. Maybe Billy had been on to something.

What was that his mother had told him, a long time ago? Cloud when he was little always had trouble with nightmares, so she had given the boy a chocobo doll to calm him down.

_Look, Cloud, this is a chocobo. And you know chocobos can drive away monsters, right? Well now that you have this one, no monsters can get to you._

Cloud clung to Zack's black feathers and sunk into sleep, for the first time resting peacefully.

* * *

It was still a work in progress, but he felt a bit better as he travelled to the western continent, though it always gave him a sense of nervousness as he got nearer to his hometown. However, that was not his priority. For some reason, something was drawing him north, away from Cosmo Canyon and towards Rocket Town. It was deep within his soul, but it almost felt like he'd forgotten something important there, and he needed to go get it back.

Cloud not one to take orders from a gut feeling, was nothenless curious about what it was, espeically after the dream he experienced. Perhaps there was something in Rocket Town he'd just forgotten to pick up. His memory was muddled from his fall.

Either way, Cloud turned his chocobo around and took off through the mountains, desperately racing towards something he didn't know what it was.

* * *

Cid Highwind was not normally a wanderer, but after getting fed up with Shera telling him to get out of the house, he finally took his old beat up truck for a drive. It was due for some touch-ups soon, but this way, he could figure out exactly what to tweak. Losing himself in the hum of the engine, he almost crashed into a rock when he slammed on the brakes next to an abandoned mako spring.

These damned things had appeared all over the world ever since that huge incident at Shinra and no one, not even scientist knew what to make of them. Cid himself didn't really give a shit unless they got in the way, and this one was most certainly.

Cid sprung out of the truck, grabbing his spear from the back and cautiously walking over to the side of the spring, where there was a prone body lying. The person it belonged to couldn't be any older than sixteen, but he was not taking any chances. He'd seen enough shape-shifting monsters to last him a lifetime.

Spitting the cigarette out of his mouth, he prodded the body gently with his spear, coming closer when they didn't respond.

"Hey kid, you okay?" He asked, in hope that maybe he'd just get up and run away and save him the trouble of helping him. There of course, was no response, so Cid grumbled and set his spear down, reaching out with his hands to turn the body over.

"Motherfucker!" He swore, when he saw the torn up clothing and the huge wound painted over the boy's chest. His left eye had been ripped out as well, and Cid didn't even want to know where that had gone. All in all, the kid was a mess.

"Fuckin' hell, what happened to ya?" He asked, pulling off a glove and checking for a pulse. It was there, but very faint, and he could probably die without medical treatment. "You're just askin' to cause me trouble, aren't you?"

The boy of course, did not answer, so Cid did the sensible thing and lifted the kid up gently and put him in the back, stabilizing him with some spare blankets and pieces of wood he had lying around.

"You're a fuckin' idiot t' get torn up like this, so don't expect everyone to be so kind!" He growled as he started the engine, racing back to his house in record time.

* * *

Shera freaked when he brought an extra person home with him, but Cid didn't rightly care. He just muttered an excuse and called for a doctor. To be fair, he didn't know why he was helping the kid he didn't know, but it seemed to be the right thing to do.

Even after the doctor checked up on him, the boy didn't respond or wake up.

"He has a severe case of mako poisoning," The man said, standing up from the bed. "Where did you find him?"

"Out by onna those new mako pools outside town," Cid answered, annoyed with all the small talk. "He gonna be okay?"

"I don't know. It's possible he could wake up soon, or not at all. Only time's gonna tell." With that, the doctor packed up and left, after getting a promise from Cid and Shera to look after him. Cid went back into the room, staring at the red-haired boy who seemed too small for the suit he'd been wearing before.

_Looks an awful lot like a Turk uniform…._

His suspicions raised, he reached into the pocket of the ruined uniform and eventually found an I.D., his hand freezing in place when he read what was on it.

"Cid, what is it?" Shera had walked back to check in on them both when she Cid's reaction.

"He's a fuckin' Shinra Turk!" He exploded, slamming the door on the kid's room.

"What? But he's so young!"

"Says so right here! Name's Reno, of all things, an' he's a goddamn Turk!"

"Cid, I think you-"

"Shut it, Shera! I ain't takin' that shit from you. He's a fuckin Turk, I never shoulda picked him up!" Cid's face grew red from rage and he ripped the door open, despite Shera's protests. Pounding his way over to the bedside, he reached out a hand to aggressively yank the Shinra monkey out of the bed when the boy flinched away from him suddenly.

Cid froze in place, not expecting a reaction, and nothing happened for a few precious moments. The Turk boy never opened his eyes, but he eventually relaxed, though Cid could tell he was still shivered, whether from the fear or the cold, he didn't know.

_Fuck this all to hell….._ Cid didn't want any Shinra inside his house, not after what they had done with him, but this kid was in trouble. And it wasn't like he could deny the help now. He'd just feel bad or not be able to sleep or something.

"Fine. He can stay. But only until he wakes up," Cid said tersely, exiting the room. Shera glanced worriedly at him before she too left, closing the door gently behind her.

 


	30. You Are Never Alone

"Tell me, what do you do if the world has turned against you, a monster?" Genesis did not know who he was speaking to, for it might've just been the wind. Not even a quote from his beloved LOVELESS would help him now, for the Goddess and his inspiration had abandoned him.

He'd attacked Midgar to get the Jenova cells Hojo had hidden in the Turk's left eye, but it had all gone sour when he, believing the red-head to be done-for, instead engaged in a duel with him.

Genesis was by no means a perfect or godly person, but he really hadn't wanted to kill him. The look on the blonde boy's face afterwards….

_I have sinned against you, have I not?_

Genesis now knew that that boy, that blond-haired SOLDIER was the one to carry the will of the Goddess, not him. Never him. And he had angered the WEAPON inside and brought down the wrath of the Planet. It was in turmoil, and Gaia herself was turning inside out to combat the death of her children.

"Why are you  _toying with me?!"_ Genesis yelled, his fire materia reaching out and exploding to life, sending a good portion of the woods up in flame. He closed his eyes as the popping of the fire grew and the sound of roaring filled his ears.

_If the Planet and the Goddess herself so wishes to despise me, so be it. They view me as a monster, so a monster I shall be. And drag them down with me._

It was petty and it was terrible, but Genesis long acknowledged the fact that he might not survive his degradation, a sure sign that he too was a reject. He had hoped, he had clung to the idea all his life that the Gift of the Goddess LOVELESS spoke of would save him, that he would finally be a hero, and when his wing had appeared, he had rejoiced. He was now a beautiful angel. But the madness had come with it, and suddenly Genesis saw what the wings really meant.

_A monster._

The terrible appendage stretched with a creaking noise, losing feathers as he slowly took off again. Everything was suffering in this state; he could no longer remember what it was like to feel healthy and alive, to feel human. Perhaps thats why he pursued Angeal and Sephiroth still; he wanted his childhood back.

And that look in the Golden WEAPON's eyes…when it wasn't filled with hate and anguish, something about that boy calmed him.

But he'd ruined that along with anything else, so it did not matter anymore. The forest burned below him as he watched in satisfaction, arcing circles in the air. Angeal had finally chose to abandon him as well, so there was no one left. Nothing worthy of a monster. His dear friend, his dear brother, abandoning him at last.

Somewhere deep in his heart he knew that what he was thinking and doing weren't true, but at the moment, Genesis didn't rightly care.

* * *

Cloud was thankful for mako and thankful for Zack, because without either, he probably wouldn't have made it as far without dropping dead. Either way, he was nearly dead on his feet by the time he reached the other end of the desert he had to cross over just to get to Rocket Town. Dressed in civilian clothes as he was, Cloud didn't attract as much attention, but he still got plenty of weird looks along the way; a youth with mako eyes riding a black chocobo was apparently not a common sight. He just ignored all of them.

Nothing seemed to have changed in a month, though he knew that was mostly a lie. Nothing visible had changed; but Zack and Sephiroth had defected and the entire Turk department had just vanished, taking Rufus Shinra with them. Or at least, that's what the local papers had said.

Cloud knew he had to get to Cosmo Canyon, desperate to see a familiar face, even if it was Vincent, whom he hadn't seen in, well, months, but instead, the force drawing him to Rocket Town just grew stronger.

He'd never even been to Rocket Town before, so it was confusing as to why he had the sudden urge to go there. Looking back at his recent foray into the Lifestream, he just concluded that it was probably the Planet telling him something important.  _Better to not ignore it, then._

Only a couple days passed, for true to his nature, Zack was very fast, especially when given Gysahl Greens, but it wasn't enough for Cloud. Every second that ticked away was another maddening second deeper into his own mind and depression. Discovering he was just the Planet's WEAPON and nothing he'd done was him had been disheartening to say the least, and he still had nightmares to deal with.

He curled up next to his chocobo as much as he could, and while that had helped, he was still having trouble falling asleep. By the time he'd reached Rocket Town, he was exhausted and nearly ready to fall over himself.

Maybe he'd been lying to himself and none of that had been real; him with Zack and Sephiroth, and Jenova and everything. It was all so surreal and he was so disconnected he was craving anyone with a familiar face. Hell, he'd even take Hojo right now if it would anchor him down to reality.

Cloud slowly rode into Rocket Town, a quiet hamlet on the other side of the Nibel Mountains. Normally, the rocket the town was named after would be standing tall and proud, but for some reason it was crooked and looked almost broken. That was certainly new. He looked around and for this time in the morning there weren't that many people out, so he just headed towards an inn. The building in sight, the blonde SOLDIER dismounted, only to fall over on the ground with how exhausted he was. This earned him a few shouts from random passerby, but he waved them all off as they came to help him, pulling himself up again. He really needed some decent rest.

The sense suddenly crashed over him, almost causing him to stagger again, coming from the house with a small plane behind it. It was pulling Cloud in and suddenly he knew that something important was there, something he'd lost.

Almost in a daze, the blonde walked over to the door and robotically knocked on it, not quite responding when an older man smoking a cigarette opened it. "What the fuck do you want, kid?"

The man's rudeness shook Cloud out of his daze and he narrowed his eyes. "Well, hello to you too."

"I asked ya a question. If you want money, go somewhere else." The man growled, the cigarette jiggling up and down with every word.

"I don't want money. It's-it's hard to explain. I don't really know myself but like, did something happen a few days ago that was unusual around here?" Cloud asked, not really knowing what he was looking for. The scruffy blonde man actually froze in place.

"Ya mean like that weird Turk that managed to wash up next to a mako pool? 'Cause that's the only thing unusual that's happened around here.." The man never even got to finish his sentence completely before Cloud grabbed his shoulders.

"Turk? Did you say Turk? Did he have red hair? Is he okay, is he alive? Where is he?!"

"Woah, slow down, kid! Ugh, I shoulda figured that Shinra brat had friends. What're you, a SOLDIER?" The cigarette had long since fallen out of the man's mouth and been crushed by his shoe as he pulled Cloud's hands off of him. The guy looked like a mechanic, with the gloves and goggles and all, and very strong.

"Please let me see him. He's a friend of mine." Normally Cloud would've been embarrassed by how his voice cracked, but he was desperate. The man just held up his hands.

"I don't want no more to do with Shinra, but if you're here to take him, go all for it. He's in the guest bedroom," he said. Cloud nodded in thanks and took off down the hall, causing the man to swear and mutter something else under his breath.

The sense was overwhelming. It was stronger and stronger, this was real! Minerva had granted his wish-Cloud burst into the room suddenly, not even stopping until he nearly fell over the bed where a small prone figure lay.

"I…Reno…." No longer was his face covered in blood, his good eye frozen in a glassy stare. His wound was still there; bandages wrapped around the left side of his face, but the rest of him was almost…alive. The color was back and it seemed he could wake up at any moment.

"Reno?" Cloud whispered, almost not wanting to believe it. It would be a terrible trick of fate if he was dead again, just brought here to sink him into further depression. He slowly reached out a pair of trembling fingers to Reno's lips, barely breathing himself. Would he…

The world almost stopped for a minute and Cloud's stomach twisted horribly until he felt a faint breath on his fingers; the red-head was alive again. As if triggered by that, his eyes suddenly filled with tears and he collapsed on the side of the bed.

"Reno, you're alive, you ass! I'm gonna hate you so much when you wake up…"

* * *

_He didn't want to wake up. He knew that if he did, there'd be a lot of pain and trouble and a bunch of other nasty shit, so he wanted to stay floating here. Here it was safe and warm and there wouldn't be any more risk of burning up in the sun._

_Reno frowned when he heard a voice float out to him from a distance. He recognized it, but it just didn't click. It was definitely a voice he knew, just too faint for him to make it out. Was he alive? He didn't rightly know or care. He didn't want to wake up. Who knew what horrors awaited him?_

_The was a huff behind him and Reno turned around, only to spot the little Ancient that Tseng always kept an eye on. What was she doing here?_

_"You're being rude, you know, standing up your friends like that," Aerith said, folding her arms and giving him a glare. She wasn't wearing her usual blue dress, but an outfit all pink and red, with a new ribbon in her hair. Reno didn't know what to say, not entirely sure how she was speaking to him in the first place._

_"Are you going to wake up and tell him you're okay?"_

_"I don't wanna wake up, yo." Reno rolled his eyes-eye. Wait, since when did he just have one? He couldn't see out of the left side of his face!_

_"You're being stubborn. People need you, so you can't be that selfish. Besides, you seem stronger than this."_

_True. He did. He was. He couldn't get shown up by this Ancient girl._

_"I don't need you to tell me that."_

_"Good." Her hands on her hips, Aerith resolutely stared him down. "You better take care of him. We're counting on you."_

_She faded away before Reno could say anything more._

* * *

He followed the girl's advice and finally forced his eyes open, yawning widely. It felt like he'd been sleeping for the past year and his body was all stiff and vision swimming. Wait-his eye! Reno lifted up his right hand slowly to poke at the left side of his face, only to find it covered in bandages. Groaning slightly, he forced his head up, staring down at his bare chest, seeing the horrid wound that stretched across it.

_Fuck, it wasn't a dream…_

He could only vaguely recall the Shinra building and the terrible pain that had followed Genesis attacking him and ripping out his eye. Everything after that became a huge blur and he couldn't think of that without his head hurting.

Speaking of hurting, his left arm was being weighed down by something very solid. Reno's good eye slid over-that was gonna take some getting used to-only to find a very familiar blonde SOLDIER curled up on top it like a moody chocobo.

_Cloud? You're okay?_  He remembered the blonde looking scary, almost like the Goddess-hell, he remembered talking to the Goddess herself now-and he remembered falling into nothing. Green everywhere, too. It was confusing, but he was really too weak-feeling to do anything about waking him up.

Eventually, as if sensing something, the mako-blue eyes opened, and Reno found himself staring into the very concerned face of Cloud Strife.

"Reno? Reno, is that you?!" he nearly shouted, climbing up further onto the bed and invading personal space. "Reno!"

His tongue didn't feel like his own, so he just numbly nodded, just now noticing the tear trails on Cloud's face. Dear Minerva, was that because of him? The Turk didn't get a chance to dwell on that before the warm body rushed close and suddenly lips were pressed against his at an awkward angle. Reno froze in place, not expecting the kiss, or Cloud's soft hair and skin to be so close to him, to be able to smell and taste-

Cloud broke away, his eyes still wet, but now a very brilliant shade of pink. He slid off the bed and onto the floor. "I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that! I was just so…happy…you're back…"

He blinked a couple of times, feeling weird without the second eye, before trying to shift around. The mako of the Lifestream left his entire body weak, since he didn't have the resistance of an enhanced SOLDIER like Cloud, but he was very determined. Slowly, a hand worked its way down until it was resting next to Cloud's head, in a sort of desperate effort to say it was okay.

He didn't mind it at all, definitely; but knowing the blonde, he'd find a way to blame himself anyway. What better wake-up call could he ask for? For a little moment before he fell back into his slumber, Reno felt something brush against his skin.

* * *

Cloud didn't know what to do with himself. He was so overjoyed that Reno was back and okay that he couldn't sleep yet again, but for a very different reason. So overjoyed in fact, that he literally keeled over in front of Cid, the scruffy man who had helped both of them out, who grumbled and swore the entire time he dragged the blonde SOLDIER to a bed of his own.

"Look, I ain't gonna let you Shinra folk just stay here as you please!" He grumbled as he checked if everything was okay for the both of them. "So you better get better soon so you can get the hell out of here!"

Cloud didn't remember too much after that himself, exhausted as he was from the trip. Shera, the woman who lived with Cid let Zack out into the backyard with the small plane while the two rested. Apparently Cloud himself hadn't fully recovered from his own mako poisoning, and that, coupled with his depression, made him slightly sick.

Reno had woken up and seemed to be coherent most of the time, but was very weak physically and could barely speak above a whisper. That of course, did not prevent the red-head from being sarcastic and jerkish as ever, even going so far to tease Cloud about his 'greeting.'

_That's one thing I wish he would forget,_ Cloud thought, gritting his teeth.  _Fuck him. It's not like I was worried that he was dead or something._

The curious fact was that Reno seemed to get stronger every time Cloud visited him, so the blonde spent as much time as possible in his room. He seemed to sleep better in there anyway, and once he'd seen Reno alive and well again, his face had vanished from his nightmares.

Of course, only to be replaced with the worry it would happen again, either to him or someone else he cared about, but Cloud didn't have time for that.

"What the hell are you doing up?" Cloud said curtly, coming into his room and noticing the Turk was standing, using the nightstand as a crutch.

"I'm not stayin' in that goddamn bed like an invalid forever, yo!" Reno rasped as he took another wobbly step. Cloud was wobbly himself, but he still bundled Reno back into his bed, threatening to tie him down if he moved again.

"Zack is….rubbin' off on ya, y'know," Reno said, too tired to really protest.

"Yeah well, do you blame me? You're a huge idiot," Cloud said, sliding himself onto Reno's bed again. "And sorry again about you know…doing that. Thing."

Reno rolled his eye-it was weird seeing half his face covered-and snorted. "I ain't sorry you did that. Most pleasant one I've had in years."

Cloud colored very prettily at that and reached over to lightly whack his head. "Shut up."

The silence was slightly awkward for a few more moments before Reno decided to test out his vocal chords again. "You know, you look just as shitty as I feel right now."

"I haven't been sleeping well."

"Oh?"

"Oh, what? I haven't been sleeping well." Cloud gave him a glare.

"Nightmares?"

This time the blonde was the one who froze entirely in place. "I…how?"

"Happened to me the first time I ever saw someone die. Figured you wouldn't be too different." Reno said, shifting under his blanket.

"That wasn't the first time I saw someone die."

"But it was the first time you saw someone who was important." The Turk's glowing eye blinked open again, fixing Cloud with a piercing gaze. "It mattered to ya."

He said nothing, and just looked away.

"Do you…did it go away?" He asked, his throat closing up and his eyes burning again. Fuck it, he couldn't cry again, not now!

"Nope."

At that single word, Cloud bit down on his lip so hard it bled, his stomach twisting on his own. It never stopped? He couldn't deal with that, he wasn't strong enough…

"What happens is you get better at dealin' with it. It starts to affect ya less. The memories don't go away, they just stop eatin' you alive," Reno said, still staring out into the distance.

"I don't think that's gonna happen to me," Cloud said, digging his nails into his palms in an effort to keep himself together.

"Are you shitting me? That's what I thought, and now look at me. I'm the epitome of health!" Reno said incredulously. "Well okay, that's exaggeratin' a lot. But you gotta stop actin' so lame, yo."

"I'm not acting lame!"

"It'll go away, Cloud, eventually. If you keep fighting it. It never seems like that when you first start out, but believe me, it's been true every single goddamn time for me. So if its true for a wreck like me, you can do far better, got it?" Reno said, his voice completely serious. His accent had even dropped somewhat, as Cloud turned his head back to his friend in surprise.

There were no words and he just nodded silently as Reno closed his good eye and went back to sleep. That night was the second peaceful night he had in a long time.

* * *

Reno stretched his arms, seeing the way the long, nasty scar across his chest moved. Cid had gotten the doctor to come back and look at both of them, and he finally declared that Reno would make a full recovery, despite being laced with so much mako it could probably kill a small behemoth. He was quite the miracle apparently.

Speaking of Cid, it was surprsing that the man hadn't kicked them out already, despite the two of them having spent several days in his house. He was always grumbling about how he'd 'kick the Shinra brats out' all the while shoving food at them, but never once did he actually force them to leave. He was a very weird guy.

Reno sighed, looking back at his scar. A Turk's life was filled with them, but this one was nasty and cut across some of his favorite tattoos, forever marking him this time as a life saved by the Goddess. He didn't have to come back; the only reason he did was because Cloud quite literally appealed to a higher power.

Either way, he pulled on of Cid's old shirts on and headed out to the back where Cloud would be with his bird. In the time Reno spend recovering in bed, the blonde had told him everything that he knew was going on, from the mass defection at Shinra to the odd sense that had led Cloud straight to Rocket Town. Reno didn't know what to make of it either, other than the Goddess messing with them. She had said something about the herald to a WEAPON…

"So, oh wonderful destroyer of cities, what's the plan?" Reno said, leaning against the doorframe and somehow still startling Cloud. True, now Reno was hyped up on as much mako as he could handle, but STILL.

"Cosmo Canyon. That's where Vincent was last, and everyone has rumors an anti-Shinra group is building there," he said, running his fingers through the soft black feathers as the chocobo pecked the ground.

"We just gonna waltz over there and join AVALANCHE or somethin'? What the hell does Shinra even think of us?" Reno did not really like the idea of just randomly betraying the company like that, even if they had toyed with his life and Cloud's, even if they were trying to use him to their own ends. He was a Turk-

"The entire Turk department defected too, you know. I highly doubt we're welcome there anymore," Cloud said, for some reason looking sad. Was it because his dream to become a SOLDIER was now ruined?

"Figures. They just love wipin' up all the loose ends. I hate to see what they'd send after us if they knew we was alive," Reno said, shuddering just a bit.

"Well, why don't ya ask the troops in town right now?" Cid's booming voice thundered out from behind Reno, who jumped at the ready.

"What?!" Both of them echoed in a chorus.

"I got no love for Shinra myself, but you two must've done somethin' good to piss them off like this. They got SOLDIERs out lookin' for you two an' everythin'!" Cid yelled, waving a paper that looked vaguely like a wanted poster around.

"Oh shit," Reno said.

"Oh shit is right, kid. Now, no one's tellin' them anything, but it's only a matter of time before you two are found here." Cid pushed past the two of them, running over to the plane that was in the expansive backyard. "Wanna go for a test flight?"

Cloud had gone very pale with those words. "I am not getting in that thing."

"It's either the plane or Shinra, boy, and I'd trust the plane any day of my life!" Cid shouted back, throwing a few things around in his haste. Reno and Cloud took one look at each other and rushed back into the house to gather their meagre belongings. It had been so peaceful for long time that it had lulled the two of them into a false sense of security. On top of that, they weren't fully recovered, as they were stumbling and painfully moving everywhere.

"Fuckin' hell, why couldn't we at least have one week of rest?" Cloud hissed as he shoved shoes onto his feet.

"You had a month of sleep so shut it. Maybe we can stage our deaths again," Reno said, grinning, only to earn a punch from Cloud.

"Don't you dare joke about that!" The blonde whispered furiously, like the guards could hear them in here before stomping out again. Reno just shrugged and followed him, having literally nothing but food to collect. Food was important.

"Hey, why you helpin' us, yo?" Reno shouted over the propeller blades to Cid. Normally, he would think that would attract a lot of attention, but it seemed that the engineer did this all the time with his plane, so no one was even batting an eye.

"Enemy of my enemy is my friend, an' Shera kicked me out of the house. Now get the fuck in!" Cid yelled from the cockpit. It wasn't a very big plane, so the two of them would have to squeeze in behind the older man, but if it got them away….

The two fugitives clung to the plane for dear life as it, in a plume of dust and smoke, rumbled across the lawn and slowly picked up into the sky, missing the fence by a manner of inches. A few death-defying minutes later and they were in the air. Cloud was still refusing to open his eyes, so it was up to Reno to do the talking.

"So, Cosmo Canyon then?"

Amazingly, Cid let out a hearty laugh. "You got that right! It's been ages since I've been flyin' like this! Be glad I fueled her yesterday!"

Reno just adjusted the eyepatch the doctor had given him and suddenly felt nervous in the pit of his stomach for two reasons. One, he was normally the one flying the plane and it bothered him he wasn't the pilot. And two, he honestly didn't know how to deal with the fact that when they found their friends, he wasn't going to be alone anymore. People were actually waiting for them.

_Such a strange concept, isn't it Lea?_


	31. The Crimson Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have now caught up to what was posted on my other account, so this won't be updating as frequently, I usually try to go for around once a week if I'm not busy. Either way, I'm glad a couple people like it already and I'd love to hear what people think, so don't be shy.

It wasn't that Cloud was scared of flying, it was the fact that while Cid was a very good pilot, the plane they were traveling in seemed to be held together by spit and prayers. It vibrated every single time they hit a slight bit of wind or turbulence and Cloud started writing his will to his mother.

Reno was faring a bit better, in the fact that he could only see half as well and he had experience as a pilot, to which he was annoying Cid with. Cloud just ignored both of their angry banter and clung to the metal side of the plane, where he desperately wish the mako had helped with his motion sickness.

A few hours of beautiful scenery and the occasional raindrop passing by and the plane finally decided to give out underneath them. "Hold on, we're goin' down!" Cid shouted as a sputtering noise came from the engine.

"What?!" Cloud shrieked as the entire world suddenly dipped down and he was having deja vu of the helicopter crash again.

"I fuckin' hate you!" Reno shouted as well as they spiraled down and everything became a great blur. More twisting metal sounds and suddenly dirt flew everywhere as the plane nosed into the ground, bumping along at what felt like the speed of sound. Cloud's entire skeleton vibrated inside him as he used his mako strength to keep himself inside the cockpit, even bending the metal underneath his grasp. It seemed like ages before the horrible screeching and tearing finally came to a stop and the plane slowly settled to the ground.

It took a minute for Cloud's mind to catch up with his body and actually pry his fingers out of the dent they created. There was smoke and dirt everywhere and he was sure he was still vibrating from the crash, as his neck and chest were hurting like crazy, but after a cursory check, he seemed perfectly fine, not even bleeding.

The crash also seemed to shake Cloud out of the daze he'd been in ever since he reached Rocket Town and now everything was so much clearer for him, from the scent of the upturned and scorched earth, to the lines on Cid's face as he turned around to check on the two.

"You-you okay?" He grunted, a slight trickle of blood falling down his head. Cloud numbly nodded, about to ask the same when he realized something was very wrong with the scene.

"Wait…where's Reno?" Cloud asked, twisting around in the seat in the back of the plane before he ripped off his seatbelt. From the way Cid was acting, it seemed he landed the plane well enough that it wasn't going to explode, but Cloud needed to find his friend, now! "RENO!"

"Shit, where'd he go?" Urgency was clear in Cid's voice as well as he stumbled out of the open-topped cockpit, but Cloud had no time to wonder. He was a bit wobbly, but since the fog in his mind cleared, he could control himself much more easily.

The sense from Rocket Town was back, and now Cloud realized it to be Reno. Minerva had mentioned something about how their souls were now bound together, but taking it this far… It was in the direction the plane came from, and the blonde SOLDIER took off, not waiting for Cid to catch up. He abruptly stopped not 20 feet from the plane, looking confusedly at a pile of boulders sticking out of the grass. This is where he was sensing Reno but there was nothing there.

"Kid, what the fuck? Why did you run off like that?" Cid asked, not even breathing that hard after catching up. No one got the time to answer before a scrambling sound from a lone tree next to the rocks was heard, and suddenly a figure came floating down.

It was definitely Reno, but he looked so different than usual. Cloud must've been in a huge daze for he stared dumbly at the eyepatch and then again and the long, flowing hair that now sprouted out of the back of his head, as Reno's feet slowly touched the rock. The blonde shook his head, the details of the past week finally rushing forwards.

"Um, what?" He asked dumbly.

The Turk just turned towards him and shrugged. "Beats me. Guess I can do SOLDIER shit now."

"More like Vincent shit, that was really freaky," Cloud said, breathing out heavily. He was relieved to see the red-head perfectly fine from the crash, even with the freaky landing.

"Mind tellin' me just how you escaped that death trap?" Cid snapped, glaring at the Turk on the rock. Reno suddenly grew apologetic, brushing several strands of his now really long hair away. "Don't take that tone with me, old man! Hell if I know, I jus' knew were were gonna crash an' then I just jumped out of the plane. Landed in that tree. Gravity seems to affect me a lot less."

Cid snorted at that fact, but Cloud cut in before he could say something else rude. "Does that mean you're all like mako-enhanced now?"

Reno hopped down from the rock gracefully, walking over to his blonde friend. "I'm guessing you haven't noticed this sucker."

The red-head opened his good eye with his fingers, staring right at Cloud before he noticed.  _They have mako glow!_

"Wait, mako poisoning does that to someone?" He asked, still stricken by Reno's weirdness.

"Doctor said he had enough mako in him to kill a small behemoth, I ain't surprised," Cid said. "Miracle you two are awake an' coherent, I've seen people die within moments of exposure."

Cloud shuddered at that description. He really did not need more of a mental image, not with Hojo so willing to capture him."How far did we make it to Cosmo Canyon?"

"Well, judgin' from the last I saw a' the plane's tracker before she went down, we're on th' edge of the red sands that'll take us there. 'Cept by walkin' it's gonna take us far longer," Cid answered, brushing the blood on his head away with what looked like an oil cloth. He seemed grossly unaffected by this entire affair and Cloud was actually impressed. He thought that the older man would kick them out once he saw them acting funny.

"Well then, shouldn't we be going?" Reno asked, tapping the side of his head. "Fairly certain this crashed plane is like a signal flare to Shinra."

Cid grumbled something under his breath but chose not to share it. "Hold yer goddamn chocobos an' let me salvage shit, will ya not? Unless ya wanna be running around with no supplies again!"

Neither of them could argue against that logic.

* * *

Salvaging for Cid meant rooting around in the wreckage of the plane-all whilst bemoaning about its destruction-until he found a large metal box and a long spear. The spear was obviously Cid's weapon, Cloud having seen him practice with it a few times before, but the metal box was a curiosity. While Reno held back, attempting to find something that would tie his nest of hair up, the SOLDIER wandered over to see what the older guy had.

The metal box, it turned out, contained several stacks of potions, ethers, antidotes, a phoenix down or two, and even some simple materia and bracers.

"Shera packs this shit for me so I have it whenever I travel, damn woman," Cid explained, pocketing some of the items. Cloud eagerly grabbed at the bangle and Cure materia, finally glad for a place he could stick his two summons. Cid raised an eyebrow when he saw them, but didn't comment further, which Cloud was grateful for. He really didn't want to explain himself.

"Aw, come on, no guns or anythin' like that? I don't do well fightin' with materia!" Reno complained, earning a whack from Cid.

"Shut up, you brat, and take what you're given!" He growled before stalking off to see what he could salvage of the engine.

"Can you believe this guy, Cloud?" Reno grumbled to his friend, angrily snatching up a couple of materia and some items as well. "What does he expect me to do, fight things with my fists?"

Cloud just shook his head, close to actually smiling, though he was far too tired to do so. "You'll be perfectly fine, Reno. And what the hell happened to your hair?"

"Hmmm? Didn't you notice before?"

"Well, I was kinda…out of it."

"Well, I woke up and it was this long, so I'm guessin' the mako I was soaked in jumpstarted my system and made everything grow. Including my hair. Shame it couldn't make me taller," Reno said, running his fingers again through the giant mess it turned out to be. Cloud had to admit that it did look pretty cool on him, though it made him seem wilder for some reason.

"Course I wouldn't mind if that old crony actually gave us somethin' useful to work with!" Reno continued.

"I HEARD THAT!" Came a yell from the front and a gun came sailing out of nowhere and hit the Turk right in the face.

"Ow, fuck! The hell, dude?!" Reno yelped, stumbling backwards and holding his nose.

"Shaddup and don't complain about me not being prepared, you Turk brat! I'm comin' with you to make sure you don't die like the morons you are, but I ain't takin' that kinda talk from you!" Cid snapped.

Cloud stood to the side of the argument, a hand in front of his mouth so he wouldn't let out a sound as he nearly laughed. Both of their faces in this argument were actually quite hilarious, if just to see a former Turk and a pilot arguing like small children.

"And you aren't gettin' outta this either!" Cid yelled, a finger pointed to Cloud, who quickly stopped being amused. "You're just as dumb as your friend over here!"

The younger blonde stared him down but Cid as normal, was unaffected as he nearly threw the gun at Reno again. "Dumbasses, both a' you."

The red-head, as far as Cloud could tell, was muttering curse words under his breath and Cloud was a little cowed by the older man's yelling, not sure if he was actually angry at them or not. People like that always scared him, another reason why he was doing rather poorly in the military. Cid seemed to be harmless enough though-

"Reno?"

The Turk in question had suddenly bent over double, coughing hard enough to shake his whole body. Quickly dropping everything, Cloud and Cid both rushed over, the SOLDIER reaching to hold his friend up. "Reno, what's wrong?"

The red-head was pale and shaking, and was clearly in immense pain, despite not making a single noise. His good eye was wide open, and as it slid up to meet Cloud's own, he could see a few tears welling up in it. Reno coughed again, sounding like he was about to hack up a lung, but this time blood started dripping from his mouth as he did so.

"Holy fuck!" Cid swore, grabbing the Turk and laying him on his side, where he continued to cough up blood that was almost black. Cloud desperately scrambled for his Cure materia, casting it on the shaking figure, but it did nothing other than seem to ease the pain slightly.

"Reno, what's wrong? Are you gonna be okay?" Cloud whispered desperately, kneeling next to his friend.

_This one has come back to life, but to do so, a price must be paid. One can only suffer if there is something much greater to be had._

He didn't remember if Minerva had said anything about this, but he reached down to touch Reno's shoulder again, noticing the Turk stopped shaking so hard when he came in contact. Cloud immediately jerked back, not expecting that reaction, but Reno started coughing again, a few more red lines dribbling out of his mouth. The blonde quickly put his hand back and his friend quieted again, starting to breathe more evenly.

_Reno, please be okay, please! I need someone here with me!_ Cid seemed to know when to stay quiet, though he was hovering over both of them as Reno's muscles finally unclenched and he seemed to relax.

"Ow," was all he said as he reached up a hand to wipe his mouth.

"Reno, what the hell was that?" Cloud asked desperately.

"Dunno. Might be a reaction to all the mako, but I feel fine now, yo." Reno slowly sat up, the color returning to his face yet again. There were still some red stains around his mouth, but the Turk mopped them up with his sleeve, and Cloud just let go, unnerved by what just happened.

"How can you feel fine? You just puked up blood!" Cloud protested. His friend just shrugged.

"Like I said before, no clue, Cloudy. You just touched me an' now I feel okay. Must have like magic fingers or somethin'. Either way, we should get movin, yo," Reno said, ignoring all protests and actually standing fully. Cloud scrambled up with him, but the red-head seemed to be right; he looked perfectly fine, like he hadn't just keeled over and threw up his entire blood supply, which Cloud happened to still be standing in.

"I ain't fuckin' draggin' you with me if you're gonna be sick all over the place!" Cid growled, staring straight at Reno, as if inspecting him to see if he was lying. "You scared the shit outta me, kid!"

"I'm. Fine. And I'm gonna keep repeating that until you believe me, old man," Reno retorted. "Come on, live a little. I'll be great. I'll even bet ya I'll outrun ya!"

"You really wanna do that, huh?"

"You scared?"

"Hey!" Cloud shouted, stepping in between the fight. Reno was now a tiny bit taller than him-he was very angry about that-but Cloud was reasonably sure he was still stronger. "Can we stop?"

Cid looked angry, like he was going to punch Reno's guts out anyway, but he just muttered something and turned around, grabbing everything that he dropped. "I ain't waitin' for you punks."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Reno said, and despite Cloud's protests and worries, he could do nothing but follow.

* * *

Reno showed no indication of being bothered after that either, as he was traipsing all over the place with the energy of an excited Zack. Cloud was impressed by how little this event seemed to be bothering him, from the coming back to life to the coughing up blood. Cloud couldn't sense the wrongness that hovered around Genesis and Angeal, but there was definitely something off about the red-head.

Thanks to Cid's guidance, they actually managed to get somewhere, and the dirt beneath their feet slowly turned a rust red. It made the setting sun look quite beautiful, as the land had flattened out, and everything turned a gold and red tone.

For some weird reason, no monsters had been attacking, despite them not having a chocobo. Reno had joked it was because the monsters thought Cloud was one, but as usual, he completely ignored him and continued worrying. It was freaking him out so much that even when they set up camp in a tent that night, Cloud stayed up to make sure nothing happened.

Morning came and Cid yelled at him for doing so, before literally picking Cloud up and demanding he rest while they kept walking. From his experience with Angeal, he knew it was hopeless to argue and just did as the cranky man said.

It was, in fact, a bit hard navigating the area, since it was wrought with canyons that twisted this way and that, but somehow, Cid always knew where they were going.

"They all look the same!" Reno complained as he stared up at the red walls of what was possibly the fifth path they went down. "How are you doing this?"

"Didn't they ever teach you navigation in Shinra?!" Cid said. "It ain't magic, y'know! Though, technically we're supposed to use a hovercraft to navigate this."

"What?!" Both Reno and Cloud protested at once, afraid they were stuck down here forever.

"I ain't havin' time for that! That's why I'm takin' you the hard way in! Cosmo Canyon natives use this all the time!" The older man laughed, sounding a little crazy as they kept walking.

How did he find these people?

Cloud kept an eye on Reno and his nest of bright red hair for the rest of the trip, but it was only a half-day before they reached the establishment when they learned finally what was up with him. It had been another unusually quiet day devoid of monsters, when out of nowhere, Cloud froze up. He'd heard a slithering sound somewhere.

"Did you hear that?" Both Cid and Reno turned around, twin expressions of confusion on their faces.

"Hear what? I don't hear nothin'," Cid said, checking the landscape and readying his spear. The cigarette in his mouth trailed a little bit of smoke upwards as he looked.

"It's like a slithering-"

"Over there." Reno pointed in the same direction. Seeing Cloud's question glance, he just shrugged again. "Mako ears."

They all were quiet as the ominous slithering grew nearer and Cloud reached for his sword, only to have his hand hit empty air.

_Fuck, Cid didn't have a weapon for me!_ A flare of panic ran through his stomach as his sense of danger suddenly rocketed, the rocks beneath their feet shaking. Cid spun his spear around at the ready and Reno had drawn his gun, leaving Cloud with only his materia. That was certainly something he wasn't sure he wanted to try in such a closed space.

It didn't matter anyway, as the monster suddenly shot out a barbed tentacle straight at the blonde SOLDIER, the thing curling around his leg and yanking him forward. Cloud went down with a yell, his hands scrambling for purchase on the soil. He was being dragged forward at a fast rate and his fingertips were being rubbed raw in the process. Trying to kick his leg free, he looked back and so the biggest, ugliest, most mako-crazed sand-worm he'd ever seen. One look at the teeth and Cloud yelled again.  _I don't want to get eaten alive!_

In his moment of panic as he was being pulled towards the giant circle of teeth, he let out a lob of fire at the squirming tentacle, severing it and stopping his forward movement. He rolled a bit, but immediately got up and ran away as the worm lunged out at him, shrieking in anger. Cloud rolled out of the way, thanking his enhanced reflexes as gobs of monster spit flew past him. Cid and Reno had already come for him, the Turk firing several bullets into the things mouth.

"Fucking hell, I've never seen a monster like that!" Reno shouted as the thing backed up slightly, wary of the tiny humans in front of it. Cid had already taken a running leap at it, burying his spear in its side, only to have it shock the thing slightly and bounce away. Cid came tumbling down after, only catching himself right before he fell on the ground.

Cloud had not time to be impressed, because the next thing the creature did was shoot out about five more of the tentacles at them. Cid managed to block them with his spear while the other two jumped out of the way, Reno firing back from the side.

"It's hide is tough as nails! Can't fuckin' get through it!" Cid said, having retreated back to Cloud's level. A shot rang past them and hit its mouth, causing the worm to scream in pain. "Looks like it's got a soft spot, yo!" Reno called, the empty casing falling to the ground.

"The what are you doing? Shoot it!" Cloud yelled, pointing at the now angry and injured worm.

"Does it look like I have any more bullets?" Reno shook the gun up and down. "I'm all out!"

"Well fuck," Cid muttered. "My spear ain't workin' an' we can't get close to the mouth without bein' eaten. You Shinra folk have any bright ideas?"

"Um, run?" Cloud asked.

All three of them thought it was a good idea, but as they turned towards the other side, a bunch of smaller worms appeared around the corner. That earned a bunch of swear words Cloud had never even heard before from both Reno and Cid, and he began contemplating what would happen if he summoned Odin in a canyon like this.

"We're surrounded!" Reno said, looking both left and right. "Shit, I wish I had backup…"

Cloud wished he had a sword and maybe Zack along to help him out, because while he'd taken down the Lost Number a long while ago, he had been much better armed. Cid seemed to be messing with something in his pack and Cloud was about to ask what it was, when the older man pulled out a few sticks of dynamite tied together. "Let's see how this fucker likes summa this!"

"Are you serious?!" Cloud said, his voice nearly cracking. "You're going to throw dynamite at it?!"

"You two got a better idea?"

There was silence after that, and Cid just nodded. "Thought so. You guys distract it."

The worm did their job for them, as it lunged its bulbous body forward for the two mako-enhanced kids, who promptly dodged out of the way. Cloud ducked forward again, feeling naked without his sword to deflect things, and lobbed another piece of fire at a tentacle, causing that one to draw back with a snap. He could hear a few bangs around him as Reno did whatever he was doing, but he had no more time to worry as he weaved around the flying appendages, surprised by how slow they were moving.

Mako enhancements were great, he could see almost every attack coming before it-a tentacle slammed into his chest right as Cid threw his dynamite, ironically knocking him outside the blast radius. He couldn't see it, but he could feel the heat and noise as Cid's explosive detonated, causing the worm to go into a fury and knocking rocks everywhere. Cloud rolled up quickly, running away from the worms and towards the smaller ones, which were all going nuts. It would at least get them out of the way of the big one.

He couldn't see very well because of all the pebbles and debris flying everywhere, but as a shadow fell over him, the blonde SOLDIER looked up, only to see a large rock coming hurtling straight at him. Planting his feet, he threw his hands over his head to defend himself, waiting for the rock to hit, since there was very little he could do.

However, the rock never hit, and all Cloud saw was a flash of red before it was blasted apart above him. He covered his head again as the bits rained down, but as his vision recovered, he stared at the darkly shining figure that had appeared in front of him. A silver helmet covered the face, as well as formed gauntlets and boots, and an ornately designed chest-plate. Red hair flowed freely behind him, and when the wind flared out, so did his cape, which was decorated with blood-red feathers, twisting around to look almost like…..

"An upside down wing." Cloud stopped where he was to focus on the strange figure. He knew who it was; the intricate red tattoos on the person's bare arms gave it away. But he looked so strange and off, and powerful… _Just like Vincent._

Reno held out a newly gloved hand, and sparks grew around it, slowly traveling away and forming the length of a spear. It was about six feet in length, made out of a deathly black metal, and thin as a rail, but for some reason it radiated power. Cloud almost took a step forward, but the Turk-could he even call him that-shifted in front of him and held out the weapon.

"Dare try and take me on, worm?" His voice even sounded different, as if it were layered with many others and for some reason, it sounded very familiar to the blonde SOLDIER.

"Reno…" Cloud reached out a hand, but the wing-cape brushed in between them. As he got nearer to the black leather and Reno's body, a spark grew between them and suddenly Cloud himself felt power electrifying his veins. He could do  _anything._ His herald had arrived and had faith in his abilities.

Cloud no longer felt like himself as he started to turn away, a ring of light surrounding the two of them as the ground began to rumble. It scared him, almost, feeling this inhuman, but for some reason he had faith that Reno was there, beside him. That he wouldn't hurt Cid.

_My purpose is to give hope._

Cloud raised a hand, and at the same time Reno raised his spear and they both leaped into the air. Reno floated above, while Cloud jumped off a few pieces of rock that had stopped in midair, before coming down in a joint attack. A bolt of pure lightning shot out as Reno threw his spear, and the SOLDIER brought his fist down on the ground at the same time, shattering the floor. The twin explosions blew outward, showering lightning and rocks everywhere, and producing a thunder-clap that was loud enough to be heard for miles. The spear, surrounded by rings of light, tore the worm straight in half as if it were made of paper, and beams of light shot out in synchronization from where Cloud's fist contacted, ripping apart the little ones as well.

The whole battle was over in less than three seconds, and when the wind and the dust finally settled, the two of them were left standing there, back to back, the weird synergy sparking between them.

Cid, miraculously untouched by all of this, was standing over to the side, mouth hung open. The cigarette had fallen from in between his teeth and was now just lying on the ground, smoking, but that wasn't the priority.

"Wha-what-I-" He sputtered, his spear now clattering to the ground as well. Cloud had since come off of his high, looking apologetically over to their clueless companion.

"I'm sorry, I didn't really know how to explain-I don't know what happened either!" The SOLDIER desperately looked at Reno to get help, but the Turk was more distracted by his new ensemble. The armor had since faded, leaving him only with the leather outfit and the flaring red cape, plus shoes that could only be described as heels, except they had spikes attached to the bottom.

"Um. Well. This is. New. Sorry Cid. If I'd known, I would've warned you," Cloud said softly, looking down at his hands. Looking back at it, what he did now seemed completely ridiculous and unreal, even though he felt all of his magic power had been severly drained in that last attack. The mako was the only thing keeping him on his feet right now.

Cid had at least stopped looking so much like a cactuar in the headlights. "Well, fuck me sideways. I think you have a condition."

_If you call being the over-powerful destructive WEAPON of the planet a condition, then yeah. Though I'm not sure about Reno._

Said Turk was still looking at his new clothing in something akin to both disbelief and slight horror. "I look like a hooker more than I did WHEN I was a hooker!"

Both Reno and Cid just stared at him.

"What?"

"I-nothing." Cloud swallowed heavily, flexing his hands. Reno looked weird, that's for sure, but the backwards wing had reminded him of something. "Do you know just what happened?"

"Well, all I know is the Goddess has a shitty sense of humor!" Reno said, poking at his hair, now in a neat ponytail on the back of his head. "I look like a Vincent reject!"

"More like the Crimson Devil," Cloud said, refusing to get drawn into the red-head's antics.

"The wha'?" Reno had stopped what he was doing and Cid was just listening to their conversation with a wary look on his face. Cloud honestly didn't blame him.

"It's a story in my dad's book. And I heard the Goddess mention something about that. And you being a herald. I'm guessing this is what she meant. Congratulations, you're now super-powered too," Cloud said tiredly. Were they ever actually going to get anywhere?

"Well then. This is certainly an experience." Reno looked confused but otherwise accepted it, having shouldered the long spear behind him. "Hey Cid, you freaked out by us now?"

Cid looked like he was going to agree, but shook his head entirely. "Man, you kids are all kinds of fucked up. But I ain't quittin' halfway through, that's not the Highwind way!"

Reno gave a shrug like 'suit yourself' and swung on to where he saw Cosmo Canyon in the distance. Cloud just whispered a sorry, dragging his feet after the red-head, briefly wondering how the Turk seemed to be unaffected by anything. He didn't get an outfit change or feel any more powerful, he just felt drained and depressed.

A heavy hand clapped onto his shoulder. "Don't be, Cloud. You don't look like you know what's goin' on either. Don't sweat it."

Cloud turned around to Cid's surprisingly friendly and open face, before he patted the younger blonde on the back and kept going. A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips as he trudged forward, adding a little spring to his step. Cosmo Canyon held all the answers, he knew it.

* * *

A huge explosion rocked most of Cosmo Canyon from their sleep, including Nanaki. The lion blinked his eyes open, rising up on all fours. "What was that?"

Next to him on the bed lay Vincent,, where he'd been lying for the past few weeks. Ever since the attack on Midgar a month ago, the man had been very nearly comatose, and when he was awake, it wasn't Vincent speaking. This however, wasn't the case now, as Nanaki saw a pair of burning red eyes staring back at him. "Nanaki?"

"Vincent, are you okay?" His tail waved back and forth and he was torn between seeing to Vincent and investigating the explosion, but the Turk made the decision for him by rising silently from the bed.

"I need to go," he growled, and headed for the door, just simply dropping from the balcony. Nanaki, panicking, followed him, landing on all fours and running after the red-caped man.

"Vincent, are you okay? You've been sleeping this past month!" Nanaki said, loping in front of him. Vincent had the gall to look surprised before moving around the Cosmo Canyon native again.

"I heard a voice calling and then I fell asleep. What was that noise?" He asked, staring out at the horizon, where a plume of smoke had risen. Nanaki raised his head, but he didn't know any more than the human standing next to him.

"I don't know. I was going to investigate when you woke up," Nanaki answered, sitting down on his haunches. Cait Sith was wandering around somewhere, probably asking questions, but he didn't feel like finding the robotic cat right now.

It turned out they didn't have to wait much longer before they found out, as the perpetrators arrived not too long after. In the meantime, Vincent had not told Nanaki anything useful, but that was simply because he couldn't remember.

The cause of the ruckus turned out to be three humans, one with amazingly blonde spiky hair and even bluer eyes, an odd red-haired boy that somehow matched Vincent, and a rugged older man carrying a spear and a cigarette. As soon as he lay eyes on them, Vincent stiffened next to Nanaki, who looked up questioningly.

The blue-eyed boy caught his gaze, and as soon as he lay eyes on the retired Turk, came running over. "Vincent, I'm so glad you're okay!"

Vincent didn't speak. He didn't move either as his two companions caught up. Nanaki eyed them all curiously. Friends of the caped man, were they? "Who are you?"

A jolt seemed to run through the blue-eyed boy as he realized the lion with a flaming tail could talk, but recovered himself well. "Sorry. Um, my name is Cloud Strife. This is Reno and Cid. I'm friends with Vincent."

Strife? Had he said Strife? The same name that had appeared in Grandfather's research…

"Cloud Strife, I am pleased to meet you. I am Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon, and if you are who I think you are, Grandfather would like to talk to you."

Cloud exchanged a nervous glance to his two companions, who weren't talking either and then to Vincent, who nodded just slightly. That seemed to decided it for him, as he turned back to Nanaki and inclined his head. "Okay then, lead the way."

With a swish of his tail, Nanaki turned and headed for the observatory, hoping against hope that they would all get answers soon enough.

 


	32. Legend of the Golden King

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luckily enough, today is my day to update. I hope you enjoy, and again, I'd love to hear from people ~Xar

To say Reno was uncomfortable right now was definitely an understatement. Not only was he now decked out like Goddess even knows what with these stupid shoes and with the even dumber spear, but he had no idea how it happened in the first place. 

Sure, he and Cloud had basically just come back to life by passing through the Lifestream, but Cloud looked perfectly normal, other than the mako eyes. He was…this.

“Fuck all of you and fuck this and fuck my hair,” he muttered, his boots clacking his way as he followed Cloud up to the observatory. It was long as shit and kept getting in his face and the shiny new eyepatch he had wasn’t helping either. That in itself presented a whole slew of problems; it was taking all of his concentration and willpower to not just run into things.

Neither Cid nor Cloud had said anything as they followed the weird lion creature called Nanaki, so Reno just put his trust in Vincent that something good would come of all of this. He was sick and tired of all the mysteries that kept popping up. They involved his well-being, after all. 

“You ever use a spear in real life, Turk?” snarled Cid, who’d deigned to talk to him again. The man was getting increasingly hostile the more he spent time in their presence, and Reno had no idea why he was still with them. Maybe they just hated each other. Cloud seemed perfectly fine.

“Sure. Havin’ a spear magically appear in my hand to decimate a monster at least twenty times my size happens to me all th’ time, old man,” he replied winningly.

“I don’t need yer kinda lip, kid! You keep swinging that thing around like that an’ yer gonna get us all killed. I ain’t havin’ a newbie do me in!” Cid growled, shoving his face-and cigarette-at Reno. 

“So what are you even suggesting?”

“Once we get outta this backwards, hippie place, you’re gonna learn how to use that thing, and you’re gonna like it!” He said, stopping Reno in his tracks.

“Excuse you?”

“Ye heard me. Now move it!” Cid shoved the Turk on the shoulder none to gently, as Cloud had turned around, waiting for them to get their shit together. He just flipped a rude hand sign as he stumbled forward, trying to catch his balance again. It was great to be alive, he just wish it came with a better starting package.

“You two done fraternizing?” Cloud asked as the red-head caught up to him.

“Shut up, Cloudy, that man hates me and you know that,” Reno said as he ducked through another doorway and nearly tripped over the stairs. HIs vision had been fine in the canyons, but now that it was all close-quarters he was having problems.

“No he doesn’t, he’s just pretending because he’s trying to hate you by obligation. I think.” Cloud didn’t look quite sure and Reno just snorted in disbelief. 

“Whatever, yo. You know what the lion wanted to say to us?”

“His name is Nanaki, and I have a feeling I know what.” After that, Cloud wouldn’t say anymore, and as Vincent had vanished a few minutes ago, he had nothing left to do but wait.

——————

It was a lot to absorb in one go, and Cloud had a feeling it was only going to get worse. With Shinra supposedly looking for them and Reno’s transformation, as well as the revelation of who he actually was, the past few weeks seemed to have been moving too fast and he was desperately attempting to keep up. 

Nanaki seemed to know something and he was so glad to see Vincent again. A familiar face was something he needed, even if it hadn’t been Zack. Then again, Vincent seemed to already have known that Cloud was fine. Was it because of what he sensed inside the retired Turk?

“Well, well, this is an interesting group.” Cloud had been so focused on thinking that he hadn’t even noticed they had made it out to the observatory on the top of the cliff and there was a strange old man floating in front of him, flanked by Vincent and now Nanaki.

“Okay, please tell me you know more about this shit going on than we do,” Reno started off eloquently. The older man laughed and gestured them inside, and pretty soon they were all seated around a low table that was inside what turned out to be this man’s house.

He introduced himself as Bugenhagen, the leader of the village and a guru of the Planet.

_Good. Exactly what we need._

“So uh,” Cloud said, glancing around the rather messy observatory. “You said you had things to tell us?”

Reno and Cid’s spears were set up near the door, and the older man looked distinctly uncomfortable without it around him.

“Yes I did. Vincent here was a big help in my research, but I managed to pull up a good amount of information about the Golden Weapon,” Bugenhagen said, floating his way down to their level. How the old man did that, Cloud could not figure out, but he knew it probably had something to do with materia.

“The Golden Weapon?” _That’s what Minerva called me. And…the book. I still have that, don’t I?_

Cloud pulled out the storybook, and flipped open to the page that talked ever so briefly about it-the blank page near the end his father had filled with words. “You mean this?”

The old man made some sort of noise and made to snatch up the book, which Cloud swiftly yanked away. “What is your problem?”

“That, my boy, is the final link to what we were attempting to solve! Vincent here kept finding references to ‘the storybook’ and other things Uther wrote, but we didn’t have it, nor figure out what he meant.” Okay, that seemed to make sense, so, with a nod from Vincent, Cloud slowly gave the book back to Bugenhagen, who immediately seized it and began flipping through the pages.

The man seemed harmless enough, just very enthusiastic about the Planet and the Lifestream-or at least, that’s what Cloud could sense of him. Ever since his foray into the Lifestream, he’d been noticing that he was more connected like that, as though a bit of it existed in every person.

“Aha, here it is!” The old man crowed, causing Nanaki to look up. He swiftly turned the pages around for everyone to see. It was a  rather old ink illustration of a figure all in black, with silver armor and a helmet, complete with a spear and an upside-down red wing. 

“Hey wait just a second!” Reno shouted, standing up and nearly falling over onto Cid. “Why do you have a picture of me?”

As if on cue, the red cape he wore on his back fluttered around him and the red-head angrily pushed it out of the way. Cid just shoved him down again, muttering something about ‘damn fools’. 

“If you’ll settle down, I’ll tell you the whole tale,” Bugenhagen said, following his own advice. “It’s a rather interesting story, even if most of the details are beyond me.”

“Tell us, please!” Cloud blurted out, causing everyone to turn their faces towards him. Well, he was sick of it. He needed to understand this immediately.

“Okay then. Here goes nothing…” The old man cleared his throat and began.

“A very long time ago, the Calamity fell from the sky, which I do believe is called Jenova now, as Vincent says. She landed on Gaia and systematically began to wipe out all of the Cetra so she could have total control over the Planet. She hated them because she was death and they were life, and they had the power to resist her, at least a little bit. She had the ability to shapeshift and kill the Cetra by killing their loved ones and then appearing as them to gain their trust. The Cetra-the Golden People, as they called themselves-tried everything they could, summons, magic, and even possibly some rudimentary WEAPONS but Jenova was too strong and was poisoning the land and the Lifestream itself.’

“So, as a last ditch effort, they gathered the last of their power and sealed her away in ice. And that, my boy, is where our story begins. The Cetra were wiped out by this last attack of Jenova, but she was damaged enough that she began to sleep for centuries, waiting to gain enough strength to finish the job. However, the stragglers of the Cetra that remained were afraid she’d come back, as they had not killed her. So, the Planet began speaking to them in whispers, telling them of future events where she would certainly rise again and Gaia powerless to stop her and her children. The stories were disjointed, and not all of them knew what they were seeing. In fact, most of them were recorded as children’s tales, in hopes they could be remembered by humans that way. 

“Who knows if it worked, after all, here we are. But the Cetra slowly faded, and humans took their place. A few Cetra artifacts have been found, but it is really unclear about everything. I do not quite understand it all. In some places is speaks of a Golden king to be reincarnated, a legend of Arthur, who used to serve with the Knights of the Round, who turned themselves into a summon after he was killed by Jenova, in order to get revenge. I highly doubt he was a king, but he must have been important to the Planet at least.

“What is more relevant to you two, is the story left behind about the Golden WEAPON. Supposedly, now that Jenova is uncovered and returned, the Planet was going to begin to unleash everything it could to protect its precious Lifestream, but the Cetra of the Lifestream cried out, because they did not want a bloodshed like the one Jenova had caused. So, because of their hope, the Lifestream itself was empowered by it and bore a human WEAPON. A human soul, given liscence to protect all those who would be killed by the original sands of time. 

“And with him, they gave him a herald, so that when his time came, someone could be there to help his soul and remind him of his humanity. And that was told in the legend of the Crimson Devil, the bird with the upside-down wing. A herald to the Golden WEAPON, much as Vincent-or rather Chaos-is to Omega WEAPON, but that is a different story altogether.”

There was a very long silence after Bugenhagen stopped speaking, and Cloud, with his mako senses, could hear the rustling over every little thing. Reno and Cid both looked stunned, the Turk more-so than the pilot. 

He was…a WEAPON. He knew that already. But…borne of the Lifestream? Did that mean his mother wasn’t really his mother?

_No…Minerva told me that she had chosen me, not created me. Chosen me because I would’ve done everything I could have to save them anyway._

But it was still a rough pill to swallow. And Reno, his herald would explain why he could always feel when the red-head was near, as well as felt more powerful in his presence. _I’m sure he absolutely loves this idea, being soul-bound to me, apparently._

“Sorry about all of that, but it’s the easiest way to let you kids know,” Bugenhagen said. “You got a rough journey ahead of you.”

Cloud eventually managed to find his voice so he could finally ask questions. “So how do you know all this?”

“I’ve done my fair amount of research, but mostly, it was your father that helped me out. His notes contained most of this information.” Bugenhagen nodded sagely, tapping the book.

“M-my father?”

“Yes, Uther Strife, I believe his name was. Ironic, but he was a smart man. Not smart enough to avoid whoever killed him, but his work did not go to waste. He told me he left his son a storybook.” Cloud could feel the old man’s eyes on him as he struggled to look away and not show anything on his face. This was all a lot for him at once, and to think this was what his dead father was involved in…how much had his mother known, and how did he become so involved?

Well, the last one was easy to answer. It just seemed to have happened.

“So you’re saying, I got brought back to life just t’ be his monkey?” Reno’s voice suddenly sounded.

“Jee, nice to know you care about me so much.”

“That ain’t what I mean, Cloudy. I’m just askin’ the reason I’m dressed like a goddamn hooker and I apparently now wield a freakin’ LANCE of all things was because the Goddess decided to play dress-up and tossed me back so he wouldn’t go berserk?” Reno asked.

“Well in layman’s terms, yes, though I was not there. That is generally what a herald is. A vanguard.” Bugenhagen answered, his eyes glinting with amusement.

“Well whoop-de-fuckin’-do. My life is wonderful.” The Turk put his chin in his now-metal hand, looking rather aggravated.

_How is he taking this so calmly? He just got told he’s basically a weapon and practically Cetra-powered to boot._

Cid on the other hand, was having a field day by the look of it. “Well this is gettin’ a bit too involved for the likes a’ me, its sounds like. I didn’t sign up for this shit!”

Both Reno and Cloud slid their eyes over to him, though the blonde SOLDIER had been expecting that. After all, he just got involved on a whim, and didn’t have anything to do with the conflict. “Then again, if you kids ain’t actually Shinra, I might jus’ stick with ya. Never liked those money-grubbin’ bastards and they cancelled my space program anyway,” he said gruffly, chewing on another cigarette, as Nanaki complained they hurt his nose.

_Space Program? I wondered why his name sounded vaguely familiar._

“So sticking with us anyway, you old geezer?” Reno huffed, apparently not pleased by this sentiment, to which Cid answered with a smack.

“Shut up, you brat! I said I was gonna teach ya how to use that goddamn spear of yours, so teach you I will!” 

Cloud on the other hand, wasn’t listening to those two’s antics, focused more on the book in his hands and all that Bugenhagen had just told him. He stood up quickly from the table and started to go outside, the conversation stopping when they saw him move. Even Nanaki and Vincent, who had not said a word the entire time, looked up.

“I’m sorry, I just…need to go outside. Don’t set fire to anything….” He didn’t even turn back as he exited the door.

———

Night-time was beautiful in Cosmo Canyon, and for some reason, it made Cloud’s heart ache. For some reason, it felt so alive here, with the crackling of fire, and the creak of windmills, and even the distant occasional flute music. It was so warm and vibrant, like the Planet giving him a gentle hug, and he knew that what Shinra was doing was destroying this feeling. For the first time he finally understood it was literally sucking the life out of the earth and killing it slowly. 

The book had turned over several times in his hands, but it was in the old man’s that it had finally revealed his secrets. Bugenhagen had said nothing about LOVELESS or the other Unnamed Characters Uther had so frequently talked about, but this was enough for him now.

Not only had Tifa and his mother and his village and everyone shoved their expectations on him, but now the Goddess herself? He didn’t rightly feel like a hero but people kept picking him up anyway. Rin had died because he wanted to be as strong. Zack for some weird reason, thought he could do it to. He did not feel strong. How had they deluded themselves into thinking this?

_I spent an entire night crying to a chocobo. I highly doubt I’m the hero the Planet wants me to be._

But…

Bugenhagen had slipped something extra into the book, so when Cloud shook, a corner of it poked out. Pulling at it, the blonde’s fingers revealed a slightly faded family photo that his father had obviously been carrying around. There was his mother, looking just as young as he did now, and Uther standing next to her, holding a little blonde bundle that seemed to be sleeping. His finger traced that spot, knowing that was him, the only time his father had ever held him.

Cloud knew he should be ungrateful that Uther never seemed to have time to come back and see him, but now, knowing what he’d been looking into, he couldn’t bring himself to hate him. Uther had paid him back, even if he hadn’t know that his son would be the one he was researching.

Slowly, he turned it over, and saw more of his father’s handwriting on the back. 

‘ _To my own little Golden King. I love you, and I’m sorry, and I hope you will find this some day, so my legacy will not go to waste. Looking at all these wonderful, terrible things I have discovered, I have just one final piece of advice for you: Go and follow your own path. No matter what you do, you will be great, and you will do great things. I know you’ll be a hero someday. I will always believe in you. I love you.’_

The signature underneath faded away as it began to rain slowly again, both from the sky and Cloud’s eyes.

————

Two dark figures stood under the rain, their capes flapping in the wind.

“So we meet again.”

“Yeah well, it was close there for awhile, yo.”

“…..”

“You know, your advice you gave me a long time ago…”

“Hmm?”

“Well, you were right. Man, I shoulda listened to you cause look at me now.”

“I told you to do what you thought was right, not act for another. To save the one precious to you.”

“Yeah…”

“Did it work?”

“Well, you were right about one thing. Turks ain’t untouchable.”

“But do you regret it?”

“….”

“No. Not at all.”


	33. Back Together Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for this being late, I have been busy with school and work and finals and just plain losing the inspiration to write. I'm happy I got the next chapter out though, so enjoy, and please tell me what you think, I love feedback.

* * *

Zack Fair had had a hard past two months. Between the incident in Midgar where he watched his best friend disappear-NOT DIE, mind you-in front of him, and finally deserting Shinra to become an outlaw, he had a lot on his plate. Angeal and Vincent were still nowhere to be found and weren't able to be contacted, and if it wasn't for having Aerith around, he probably would've gone into a breakdown already.

When Zack had grown furious at how Shinra was now treated his newly MIA friend like a criminal and science experiment-after all, they had order to track him down if he was alive and  _return Cloud to Hojo like he was property somehow-_ so he had done the only sensible thing left at this point. He'd quit. And the biggest surprise is that Sephiroth had come with him.

 _Then again, the man didn't have any friends left at Shinra…_ A twinge of guilt passed through Zack's stomach as he thought about how he'd basically abandoned the General. Still, he was grateful that the man had come along, especially now that the company was after them as well.

That wasn't even the full story. A few days later, as Zack and Sephiroth were traveling towards Kalm, a helicopter appeared out of nowhere and landed in front of them. The Turks had arrived and clambered out of the chopper, and the two SOLDIERS drew their weapons, thinking they had been sent to bring them back into custody. Rather, Zack had thought that until Tseng had brought Aerith out of the chopper as well, and Rude declared the entire Turk department had gone rogue from Shinra.

He couldn't believe at first, the loyal dogs of Shinra, as Seph had called them, but Tseng had always been an honorable man, despite their differences. And Aerith having arrived here safe only confirmed it.

And thus, the three of them continued on that way, with Rude tagging along for reasons unknown. Well, Zack did know: if Zack ran across Cloud, Reno somehow possibly could be there too. He didn't know what to say. Zack knew that Turks didn't mourn the loss of their colleagues normally-it was an occupational hazard-but they had all been more subdued than usual, Tseng especially. Reno's loss must've hit them hard.

"Are you okay?" Aerith asked, her arms slipping around his own. "Are you thinking about them again?"

Zack was so grateful for Aerith being around, keeping him grounded and still clinging to hope. She was the only one who believed fully that Cloud was still there, waiting to come back, and the journey would've been a lot harder without her.

"I….yeah. Sorry. I'll stop in a little bit, don't worry," he reassured her, attempting to smile. She just frowned in return.

"You know, you're allowed to have feelings as well. You can't always be the one to cheer everyone up," Aerith said.

Zack attempted to look away but her hand reached up and drew him back towards her burning green gaze. "The sky really is beautiful, it's the first time I've ever really seen it. And just like your eyes, I can see the sadness in it as well. I don't like it."

Zack blinked, unsure what Aerith was getting at. Sometimes she said odd things, and he wondered if it was her Cetra blood.

"You're allowed to be sad. You're allowed to cry. You don't have to hold it in. Cloud always had that problem too."

At the mention of his name, Zack finally broke down, crying into Aerith shoulder. She didn't judge, just held him as he finally released all the emotions pent up from the attack. He'd promised he'd protect Cloud and help him become a SOLDIER, but he merely fell out of reach into the Lifestream, beyond where he could help. And Reno….Reno. The red-head had been a very weird friend, but seeing the blank look of death-reminded him of Angeal and all the people on the battlefield-too much sorrow and too much loss, and Reno and Cloud of all people were not deserving. How could he be a hero like this?

Zack cried for a long time and finally went to sleep, still resting in Aerith's arms.

* * *

Eventually they had ended up going west to get away from the encroaching fingers of Shinra. It wasn't like they could outrun the conglomerate, but it would be easier to hide out in the middle of nowhere, even if that middle of nowhere happened to be near Zack's hometown. Sephiroth occasionally travelled with them, but only out of sight of other people, as he was an incredibly recognizable figure. Zack figured his Buster Sword probably was as well, but there was no way he was parting with that.

In the days that passed, they kept their ears open for news of either Cloud or Jenova. Tseng dropped by on occasion to tell him important facts, but the Turks-except for Rude-were always on the run. Still, Zack learned that ever since Cloud's disappearance, Mako pools had appeared all over Gaia and monsters had gotten suddenly and inexplicably gotten stronger.

Aerith made a very shrewd merchant and somehow managed to gain them all chocobos, sending another pang through Zack's heart as he looked down at his own black one, remembering Cloud's little joke he'd played last time. He hoped that little bird was okay.

"Where do you think we should go?" Aerith asked, after their third consecutive day of wandering nowhere.

"Well…" Truthfully, Zack didn't know. He was hoping by traveling, he would hear something of use that would point him in the right direction, but nothing like that had happened yet. He glanced over at the Cetra girl, who was sitting on her chocobo, adorned in a pink outfit. He smiled vaguely at that; he'd jokingly said that the next time they met up, she should wear pink to match her bow, though he never thought they were going to meet up under these circumstances.

"I don't know." He hung his head. "I was hoping Tseng or Sephiroth had something to tell me but I don't have anything."

Some hero and SOLDIER he was, thrown out of the chain of command for a week or two and he was falling apart! He couldn't even make an executive decision-

"Wait a minute!" Zack suddenly exclaimed, nearly cutting off Aerith with his chocobo in his excitement. "Cosmo Canyon!"

"Cosmo Canyon? Oh! I sent Vincent there!" Aerith said, her own face lighting up. "Maybe he'll know something about what's going on, he seemed very knowledgable."

Zack smiled at her, for the first time in awhile, and his heart warmed with hope again. "Yeah, that's it. We'll head to Cosmo Canyon."

The pair spurred their chocobos forward, fueled by the promise of reunion, followed by their two friendly shadows.

* * *

Claudia herself was having a bad day today. Not only had she invited a strange man into her own house, as well as adopted a young Wutaiin girl, but now she was being harassed by Shinra officers.

"Listen, ma'am, I'm just asking you a simple question. Have you heard from your son?" The officer asked her, grabbing her arm.

"Listen, you fuck, like I've told everyone else, I haven't heard from him since before the SOLDIER exam, and I'm not inclined to tell you even if he had!" Claudia stamped hard enough down on the man's foot that he yelped and let go. She pulled back and wished she'd brought her axe with her right now, as this one was more persistent than others.

Luckily, salvation came in the form of Yuffie, who ran up to her and was dragging on her arm. "Claudia, Claudia! You gotta come back to the house!"

"Yuffie, what is it? I told you to stay inside!" Claudia said, giving a worried glance at the officer. He'd certainly be suspicious now, since they clearly didn't look related…

"Well officer, sorry to cut this decision short, but my daughter needs something. Goodbye," She said curtly, taking the Wutaiin girl's hand.

"Daughter? She doesn't look like you," The officer sneered.

"Clearly you haven't seen the father. Fuck off." Claudia knew it was a bad idea to piss off an MP, but with people gathering in the square, he couldn't rightly arrest her in front of all these witnesses when she'd done nothing wrong. She had rights, you know!

Yuffie tried to ask something but she merely shushed the girl until she reached her house and safely shut and locked the door. "Okay, what was so important that you didn't listen to me and came outside?"

"Angeal's awake! Angeal's awake!" Yuffie was jumping up and down, trying to pull Claudia towards the staircase that led to the guest room. That immediately got her attention, and she rushed up herself into the room. Sure enough, the man was finally awake, though he looked even worse than before, his hair barely retaining any of its original color.

"Oh, you're up. That's…good?" She said, realizing that they had never actually been introduced. Angeal had arrived a month ago in her house, but he'd spent most of that time in a delirious state, half in between conscious and not.

"Yes…for the time being. At least, I hope it stays this way." The man's slate blue eyes scanned the room until they rested on Yuffie, his gaze softening. "Good, you're safe. I was worried."

"Yep!" Yuffie said, grinning a lot wider than Claudia had ever seen her do. "And all thanks to the great Yuffie Kisaragi of Wutai!"

Angeal's eyes widened at that last statement, trying to say something but ending up in a coughing fit instead. Claudia moved forward and helped the giant SOLDIER sit up so he could at least breathe easier, and eventually stopped, not before wiping some black blood away from his mouth.

"I apologize. But you're the princess of Wutai?" Angeal asked, and as Yuffie nodded in confirmation, Claudia nearly dropped the chair she was carrying over.

"What the he-what on earth are you doing all the way over here?" Claudia demanded, shocking the girl with her urgency.

"It's boring just sitting around in my house, and I have to take care of the Shinra scum somehow!" She pouted, crossing her arms. "I'm gonna stop them from taking over my country!"

 _Oh dear Minerva, what have I gotten myself into?_ Then again, she really had no love for Shinra either, despite her son going for SOLDIER. They had probably killed her partner-she'd never officially gotten married-and now they'd been harassing her the past couple weeks. Add in the bonus fact that they did absolutely nothing to help out the Nibelheim folks except set up weird shit in the reactor and the mansion, and she was rather in agreement.

Still, it was dangerous. Especially for a sick SOLDIER and a little girl. "Yuffie, you can't just run away like that! Your real parents are probably worried! What if they think you're kidnapped or something?"

"Hey, I run off all the time, they're use to it!"

Claudia put on her best mom face, reserved for the few times that Cloud had ever misbehaved. "You, young lady, need to let your parents know you're all right and I mean it! I know first hand what it's like to not hear from your child and imagine the worst, so you better do it, or else!"

Yuffie seemed to be cowed enough by her tone of voice that she just muttered a 'yes' and looked down at the floor. Well, it didn't seem like they'd be able to safely get her back to Wutai at this point, but it was a start.

Claudia turned back to Angeal. "I'm sorry, I never introduced myself. My name is Claudia Strife, and you're in my house in Nibelheim after you fell."

"I was about to ask…" Angeal studied her face closely, before looking confused. "Any relation to Cloud Strife?"

Claudia's face lit up. Did this man know what happened to her son? "Yes! He's my son. He went to go take the SOLDIER exams and I haven't heard back from him since before you fell from the sky."

"I thought I recognized your face…he looks a lot like you, Claudia," Angeal said, sitting up fully and beginning to stare out the window. "I met and travelled with him a little while before he returned to Shinra."

"Do you know if he's okay?" Claudia demanded, her arms suddenly resting on the side of the bed.

"I don't. But my student is his best friend, and I can guarantee you that Zack is taking care of him."

Claudia didn't know who this Zack person was, but at least he had someone. The boy was finally making friends, from the sound of it…"But do you know what happened? All I hear is there was an attack on Midgar and suddenly MPs are all over town, asking me about Cloud! What happened?"

Angeal was already shaking his head. "I'm sorry. I haven't been in contact at all with Zack recently, I know about as little of what was going on. I was searching for my friend and I-" The large man had tried to stand up, groaning as the movement caused him pain. Claudia glared and shoved him back down. "Do not make me tie you down. You just woke up and I don't even know what has you so sick."

"I need to find him. I need to atone for my sins…" Angeal muttered, his eyes closing again. The blonde woman looked at him quizzically. Sins? What exactly had this man done? She looked over at Yuffie, but the girl had lost interest in the conversation awhile back and was now staring out the window towards the mountains.

"You're Shinra folk too?" She asked.

"Well, no, not really. I'm not particularly fond of them. My son wanted to be a SOLDIER, that's about it," Claudia said, looking out the window with her, as Angeal had fallen asleep again.

"SOLDIER this, and SOLDIER that!" Yuffie huffed, crossing her tiny arms. "Why does everyone love SOLDIER so much? All they do is kill people!"

Claudia sucked in a deep breath. Honestly, she did see the appeal, but she'd been raised around Shinra propaganda far more than Yuffie had. "Well, I can't say for anyone else, but I know Cloud wanted to become one to be stronger and prove himself. He admired the General and wanted to be just like him. A strong, honorable, powerful SOLDIER. I don't know if you could call the program that, but that's what he wanted. There's probably more to it that I don't know, but thats Cloud for you."

Probably something to do with Tifa. They had snuck away to the water tower together, after all, but even before that, even before the bridge incidents, she could see the fire burning in her son's eyes. He wasn't content to just sit around.

"Well he's stupid. SOLDIERs are mean," Yuffie said, and Claudia's mood deflated.

"Are you going to call Angeal mean? He's a SOLDIER," She pointed out.

"Well, no, but he's special! All the others-"

"And are you going to call my son, a person you haven't met, someone Angeal likes and trusts a lot, mean? How would you feel if someone assumed you were mean just because YOU were Wutaiin. OR a SOLDIER and they didn't even know you?" Claudia asked, her hands on her hips.

She could see the gears turning in the girl's head as she thought about that one. "Okay fine. Not all SOLDIERs are mean. Just some of them."

Claudia smiled down at her. "See? And that's how it works. You should judge people by their character, not what they are. Angeal seems to be a good man, and I'm sure one day you'll meet SOLDIERs who aren't rotten either."  _Well, they'll be few and far between, but I think she gets the point._

Yuffie started to smile and say something but her eyes bugged out as she saw something outside the window. Claudia turned and her breath caught in her throat as she spotted it too. "What…what is that?"

* * *

Zack had never been one on keeping time, but he counted every single day since Cloud's disappearance. It was becoming so bad that even Sephiroth commented on it, and he usually wasn't the most observant of folks when it came to people. Aerith had done her best to calm him down, but it was a hard job for her too. She had a lot on her own plate, and Zack was loathe to burden her anymore.

He distracted her with talk of the sky, pointing out the local flora and fauna that he found interesting, even asking her what she thought of the whole trip. She answered that it was delightful, even the gigantic sky, which still worried her a little, but she couldn't eliminate the slight sadness in her voice, just like Zack couldn't eliminate the knot in his stomach.

Aerith had finally admitted she'd met Cloud while dreaming, though never actually in person, and it was clear to Zack that she'd taken a liking to the blonde boy as well.  _All the more reason for us to find him then._

One month, two weeks, three days and counting. Zack had seen Rude opening a little book every so often and writing something down in it, but he never asked. The man had always been very private and Zack certainly wasn't going to break that. Perhaps he too was counting the days since he'd-

Nope. Not gonna go there, or else his uncontrollable anger against Shinra and Genesis would rise again.

One month, two weeks, four days and counting.

* * *

Genesis had flown long and wide, far around, waiting, wanting to be free of the anger and guilt that enraptured him. No matter how many monsters he killed, forests he set on fire, he could always feel the accusing eyes of the Goddess on his back.

He had wanted her Gift, but instead had murder one close to her.

_This is something fit for a villain, Genesis. No wonder your friends despise you._

The Jenova cells from the Turk's eye were only a temporary relief, as he did not know how to use them effectively. Hollander had been reported missing, then killed from Junon, with wounds that looked as if they were made by a Buster Sword.

 _A vengeful puppy has grown up, and soon he will realize it is harder to become a hero than he thinks._ LOVELESS wouldn't help him here. Even his beautiful play, his work of art had abandoned him, and here he was, desolate and alone, against a beast that had been driven mad by mako.

Genesis didn't care about the town at all. He didn't know why he was fighting it. But there must've been a reason, for with each blow to the creatures armored side, he grew more desperate to win. He was Genesis Rhapsodos, he could not lose to such a pathetic creature!

Tired of waiting around, Genesis seized the chance and spread his wing, launching into the air for his final attack. He felt the strings of magic pull at him, and the giant red circles of Apocalypse appeared on the ground. With one final command, he swept his hand by, and the land inside the circle exploded into flame, incinerating the monsters, and raising a plume of smoke over twenty feet wide into the air.

If they hadn't known he was here, they did now.

Why did he care about their approval? Why did he care about Cloud's approval? He'd followed the boy all the way from Rocket Town to Cosmo Canyon, killing every monster along the way before feeling the urge to return to Nibelheim. The boy hadn't even known he was there.

And now he was killing monsters before they reached a town he didn't care about, just knew it was the boy's hometown. Was that why? Was he trying to redeem himself in the eyes of the goddess?

While he was ruminating on this, Genesis was alerted to the crunch of footsteps coming towards him from the ground. He must have alerted one of the townspeople. Genesis spread his wing and was about to fly away before he spotted the woman who had walked all the way here. Spiky blonde hair, determined blue eyes, and that face…..

He dropped out from above, causing her to shout and jump back, pulling up her axe. He didn't even acknowledge the weapon; it couldn't injure him, nor could she.

"What the hell is going on here? Were you the source of that explosion?" She called authoritatively, not showing any signs of fear. He had to be impressed, even a little bit by this ordinary human.

"And if I was? What would you do about it?"

The woman narrowed her eyes. "I don't have any time for trouble right now. I just want to know if you're a danger to me and my town."

He picked up slightly shaking arms, but that was it. "I was merely taking care of a little monster problem."

"By setting the forest on fire?"

"They were boring me. I killed them all, so why are you complaining?" Genesis had calmed down now, as this woman was not a threat to him, and she looked like….

"Are you a SOLDIER?" She asked.

"' _My friend, do you fly away, to a world that abhors you and I?'_ Why would I want to be a part of that filthy slime anymore? They are the ones who stole everything from me!" He growled, suddenly reminded of his two dear friends.

The woman backed up a few steps, but held her axe firm in front of her. "This wouldn't be the first time a rogue SOLDIER appeared in Nibelheim."

Genesis narrowed his eyes. Could she be talking about the time he first met Sephiroth in the mansion? No, they hadn't been rogue then.

"Really? What did he look like?" Genesis lowered his sword slightly to show his interest, though the woman did not lower hers. Smart move.

"I was asking because he has a wing just like yours, except it was white-" She never got to finish her sentence before Genesis had his sword up, pointed straight at her throat.

"Angeal?  _Where is he?!"_ What was happening? Why was he caring about a man who'd abandoned him when he needed him the most? Who left him for Sephiroth and left him a monster just like everyone else?

She didn't answer at once, but merely stared at the blood-red sword threatening her life. Genesis growled again. In another time, he might have cut her down, but she looked too much like him. He felt the goddess's eyes on his back and slowly lowered his sword. "Where is Angeal?"

"Well, you could've just asked nicely and I would've taken you to him. He's in my house right now, resting," She said, her voice flat.

_He must be suffering the effects as well…._

"The wandering soul knows no rest…" He no longer felt angry, just tired. "Take me to him."

* * *

"So you're saying there's a pair of mysterious figures running around, Shinra put a hit out on them, and you just told me this NOW?" Zack had stopped by a small outpost on his way to Cosmo Canyon where he'd run into Tseng and the other Turks. Now they were hanging out outside the village, a few meters away from the chocobos for privacy.

"I was attempting to gather more information. Clearly we didn't succeed," Tseng said, annoyed. Cissnei was keeping an eye out for anything coming for them and Rude was taciturn as always.

"So you have nothing but rumors for us? You guys are Turks!" Zack said angrily, though he stopped moving forward when he felt Aerith's hand on his shoulder.

"Zack, calm down. You being upset isn't going to help anyone out here, least of all your friends. All I know is that they were last spotted heading to Cosmo Canyon, so it is likely that Vincent Valentine may have come in contact with them. As to why Shinra is after them, I do not know." Tseng's eyes slid to the side as if he were hiding something. "I would not get my hopes up if I were you."

There was a car over to the side that Rude had been standing outside of that Zack was wondering why it was there. Especially when the windows were all tinted. Especially since he'd heard that when the Turks had split off, they had taken Rufus Shinra with them, but that was another can of worms he didn't care about right now.

"I don't care about your opinion, Tseng, I wanna know who those two are! A month without leads, man, I think I deserve something here!" Zack was about to continue a rant when Cissnei held up a couple of fingers.

"Sir, there's something coming our way!" Cissnei handed over her binoculars to Tseng, who climbed up on the rock she was using, and as if on cue, Zack began to feel the rumbling in the ground.

"Shit, what is it, Tseng?" Zack asked, his anger forgotten as he drew his Buster Sword. He heard Aerith shift next to him and pull out her own staff, ready to fight, though from the sound of it, he really wished it wasn't the case.

"I don't know, but it's a lot of them, and they've surrounded us," Cissnei said, hopping down from the rock and drawing out her namesake shuriken. The Turks had immediately gone over to the car to protect it, only further confirming what Zack thought.

"They're like coeurls, except…machines almost. They're weird," she continued, sending a chill down Zack's spine. From the look of it, Tseng didn't know either, and that was in itself, worrying. He, however, had no more time to think as one of the machine dogs jumped out at him, only to be fended off with a blast of fire from Aerith's staff.

"Thanks," he whispered, turning around towards where a bunch were coming over the hill. There were so many-were they going to be able to handle this? And where the hell was Sephiroth? Zack didn't have any more time to think and leapt at the same time as the dogs did, felling down two with a large blow. Normally, that would've killed a monster, but instead the two got straight up again and lunged for his throat. He crushed on with his sword, side-stepping and kicking the other, hearing the start of gunfire as the Turks came into range.

The one dog he kicked got up again.  _What the fuck is happening…_  He felt the refreshing glow of a Protect and Wall thrown over him, giving a nod of thanks to Aerith. He was glad Tseng had seen it fit to give her the best materia he could scrounge up and resolved to protect her from the worst of the fighting so she could do her thing. He was nowhere near a limit break, but he rushed towards the dog anyway, swinging his sword around in a complicated series that finally left it dead.

Everyone else was having almost as much trouble as he was-with the exception of Aerith-though gunfire and materia seemed to do far more damage than physical attacks. Gritting his teeth, he swung the Buster Sword as fast as he could anyway, sending a couple more flying.

A few minutes later and the battle was getting out of hand. Tseng had run out of bullets, and had to resort to using a baton much like an EMR, and Zack had scratches and injuries all over. Aerith was running out of MP and the coeurls, while much fewer in number now, had the upper hand.

"Fuck, Tseng, thinking about retreating?" He said, lobbing off a bit of ice to keep the dogs on their toes.

"It sounds like a good idea, but…" Tseng pointed back, where Rude and Cissnei were facing, and Zack's heart sank. They were surrounded on all sides.

_Was this how we're gonna go out? It can't be. I said I'd be a hero, not die to a thousand dumb metal dogs!_

But it was looking that way. Everyone was tired, and despite their high skill, the weren't expecting an enemy this tough. He was out of practice.

"Aerith…I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to be like this," he said as the growling animals grew nearer. At least, if he had to go, she was around, but he'd promised to look after her, not lead her to her death.

"It's okay, Zack. I don't regret going with you," She smiled, though still breathing heavily from exertion. "Besides, its not over yet. Don't think that way."

Zack stared at her confused, but immediately grabbed onto her as a coeurl jumped directly at them. Maybe if he-

A clap of thunder sounded and out of nowhere a spear shot out and impaled the coeurl against the ground, dissolving it into red dust. Before he even had time to question what the hell just happened, a strange black and red figure landed right next to it, cape flapping in the wind.

If it hadn't been for the flowing red hair and the fact the armor was silver instead of gold, he would've said it was Vincent. The helmet obscured his face, so Zack couldn't clearly see who it was, but the man grinned devilishly and summoned the spear back to his hand. The remaining monsters had been cowed by this show of strength, but they were regrouping. The man merely extended his right arm covered in a guantlet and beckoned a finger.

"Come on. I know you want some." The man's voice sounded oddly familiar too, though he'd never seen anyone dressed like that, certainly not with those ridiculous shoes. The coeurls finally got their legs back underneath them and the man easily batted them aside with his spear, flipping it around and stabbing another through the chest.

"Fuckin' bastards are tough to kill…. Hey, yo! Could use some help here!" He shouted over his shoulder, and he could barely make out a glowing mako eye. What the….

"You really should pick on someone your own size," A familiar voice said behind him, and Zack turned around only to find the very alive face of Cloud Strife.

Zack for the first time in his life, was struck speechless enough to drop his sword. Cloud's now horribly mako blue eyes brushed over him for a second, before he brought his arm out, glowing with materia, and unleashed the largest and most fearsome Thundaga Zack had ever seen. In seconds the party of machines were eliminated, and strangely enough, the figure wasn't affected at all, the electricity just crackling over his spear.

"I….Cloud?" Zack's mouth got working finally, since the battle was done with. "Is that you?"

He'd been checking if all of them were gone as well before turning his head back to the taller SOLDIER. "Yeah, it's me. I think."

It was silent for just a minute before Zack rushed at his friend and enveloped him in the biggest hug he possibly could. He was real, he was touching him and he was there! Zack could feel his heart beating and the rasp of his clothing, and his breath and even the soft tufts of hair sticking off the boy's head, he was here and alive!

"I'm so sorry, Cloud, I'm so sorry! Please forgive me," He said into Cloud's shoulder. The boy himself was shuddering, finally having released the tears that he'd pushed back for so long.

"Shut up, Zack, it's not your fault. It's me who broke our promise. I said I'd be strong for the both of us and-and I couldn't-" Cloud's voice cracked and he buried his head again into Zack's chest, the older teen drawing him closer.

He had questions and issues to resolve, but right now nothing mattered. Right now Cloud was save and alive and warm and right here in his arms. He didn't even care he was crying as well, he was so happy. Aerith had been right, she'd always been right. He was alive and everything was gonna go the way it should.

He wanted to hold on longer and not let go, but Cloud was pushing at his embrace, so he reluctantly dropped his arms to his side. Cloud didn't look quite directly up at Zack, but he was smiling sadly.

"It's okay Cloud, you're here now. That's all I'm grateful for," he said, gently resting his hand on the boy's head in a familiar gesture while wiping away his own tears. Cloud didn't say anything, but nodded his head in return, doing the same.

It was Aerith's turn to introduce herself while Zack turned around to the chaos behind him. The strange figure he couldn't quite place was still there, actually having the gall to look sheepish, and for some reason, Tseng had his gun point at him.

"Um, Tseng? What's going on?" Zack asked, but the Turk ignored him.

"Who are you?" He asked.

The strange man in red and black merely shouldered the spear and sauntered forward. "You don't have any bullets in that gun."

All the Turks froze at the sound of that voice.

"It can't be…." Cissnei breathed.

The man said nothing just put the spear behind his back as his armor began to dissolve. It went from down up, leaving behind the black leather and cape, until finally dissolving away from his face.

For the second time in his life, Zack was struck speechless enough to drop his sword. And for the first time in his life, he was able to see a Turk shocked enough to do the same.

Later, Zack wished for a framed picture of Tseng's face as the mysterious figure revealed himself as none other than the long-dead Reno, not only looking alive, but healthy to boot. He looked different, that's for sure, with his hair cascading down his face and drawn in a ponytail, and missing one eye, but the red tattoos were still there, as was the mischevious look on his face.

"Busted, I guess. Being dead ain't all its cracked up to be," Reno said, examining his guantleted fingers.

"How?" Was all Tseng was able to force out of his mouth.

"Blame Cloud," Reno said, pointing at the blonde SOLDIER who had finished his conversation with Aerith and was walking over to them. "He decided when he fell into the Lifestream he'd bring me back with him."

"So you're…really alive? This isn't some trick?" Cissnei asked, her weapon still raised. Turks were trained to be suspicious after all. Zack would've thought Reno would make some offhand remark and laugh it off, but for some reason the red-head wasn't smiling.

"Why the fuck would I do that? I ain't been running around these past few weeks looking for you guys for nothing! And this is the greeting I get?!" Reno suddenly yelled, taking everyone by surprise. Normally he was the composed one.

Tseng's voice sounded odd too. "We're here to protect Rufus Shinra and we're no longer a part of Shinra itself. We need to account for all loose ends-"

Reno's face fell at what Tseng was saying, clearly expecting more. "Right. What was I thinking, Turks…well yeah, I'm back an' ya don't have to worry yourselves about that."

Rude had stayed silent this whole exchange other than fidgeting with his sunglasses, but now he'd gotten up from the side of the car and walked towards where Reno was standing.

"Hey partner, you're still lookin' good. I'm glad, I was-" Reno was cut off from Rude suddenly throwing his arms around Reno and hugging him. The red-head's eye grew wide in shock, his hands falling limp at his sides.

It was brief, but Rude had hugged him, cuffing the shorter Turk over the head rather hard after letting go. "That was for making us worry."

Reno was now blinking very oddly as Cissnei took this chance too to run up a bit and glare at him until he apologized until she gave her own hug. Zack smiled to himself, feeling a bit like an odd-man out while they finally were reunited. Today was a good day, and there was only one person missing. Zack flipped out his phone to call Sephiroth back, frowning suddenly when 'no signal' popped up on the screen.

"Welcome back, Reno," Tseng said, smiling at his subordinate. Reno gave his own genuine one in return, surprised at the sentiment.

"I bet you didn't miss me at all, boss!" He said, tapping the side of his face like he normally did, casually wiping away a tear that had escaped.

"Nonsense. I just didn't have anyone around to blame for when things went wrong. Why do you think I deserted Shinra?" Tseng said smoothly, eliciting a few laughs from the scattered Turks. Zack would've loved to let this beautiful reunion continue and himself spend more time with Zack, but something bad was happening.

"Guys, I don't want to interrupt, but something's really wrong," he said, Tseng suddenly all business.

"What is it?"

"This." Zack held up his phone screen. "Sephiroth is missing."


	34. Loveless, Act III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay, but finals week is over and hopefully I can get back to a regular (somewhat) update process. I'm glad all of you guys like it so far and please, I'd love to hear what everyone thinks so go on! Anyway, enjoy. ~Xar

“This is preposterous! How could you not have seen this coming?!” Heidigger’s screaming was in full swing, though at least his target was Scarlet.

“I don’t recall it was my fault, since it was your SOLDIERs and Turks who decided to just up and leave!” Scarlet screeched back at the head of ‘Public Security’. Reeve buried his fingers in the side of his head. Ever since that blonde SOLDIER’s escapade happened and Zack, Sephiroth and the Turks had defected, Shinra had been placed on high alert. Or in the case of the board members, reduced to pointing fingers. 

“Incompetent woman! You are always the one hounding to be more prepared and defensible  for any sort of situation. And you did not see this as a possibility?” Heidigger was moving to stand up. 

“Silence! Both of you!” The President shouted, and surprisingly enough, they both did. Despite being fat and mousy, he still wielded some power. “The Turks have took my son and made their position fairly clear. All of them must be eliminated at once, if our dream of a Neo-Midgar will come to pass.”

Somehow Reeve suspected this didn’t have much to do with any sort of paternal instinct.

“Are you demanding that I kill my best chances for finding the Promised Land?” Hojo’s smooth voice cut in, and everyone turned to look at the Professor. “That boy has a power unto the Planet unlike anything I have ever seen! Access and reception to mako unheralded. If I were to study him, we could create WEAPONs for ourselves on parallel to the Planet’s itself.”

“Are you certain about that, Professor?” Scarlet sneered, brushing a blonde hair out of her face. “Sounds to me like you just don’t want your precious Sephiroth to be killed.”

“I was not talking about him! Fools like you could never kill him anyway. Let him do what he wants. He has nowhere else to go and will receive his comeuppance soon enough. I desire Cloud Strife, for he has shown his value, and is far easier to manipulate.”

Reeve shuddered inwardly, even though on the outside he remained calm and thoughtful. Through Cait Sith, he had not met the boy, but had discovered some of the twisted ideals that went on through Vincent Valentine. In fact, his precious doll was meeting up with them as they spoke and he was eager to learn what exactly was going on.

_No more loyalty to liars. No more to these fools._

“A mere third-class SOLDIER is what this is all about? More important than getting the General back?” Heidigger said incredulously. “You’ve lost your mind.”

“That mere third-class SOLDIER who had not only singlehandedly pushed back Genesis’ assault on our headquarters, but destroyed every materia in our building as well! Not to mention he stood his own against a battle with Sephiroth while un-enhanced.” Hojo’s eyes leered with madness through his glasses. “Tell me you are not curious.”

“What do you suggest we do, then?” The President asked, clearly tired of all the arguing and impatient to boot. 

“Oh what we do has already been done. Ever since Genesis defected, a plan was put in place in case a situation like this happened,” Hojo said, now leering. “Deepground, though in its infant stages, has been activated.”

_What?_

“Deepground? What is that?” Reeve spoke for the first time and everyone turned to him in surprise as if they had forgotten he was there. It was unusual for him to have never heard of such a program, being a top executive, even if he wasn’t totally involved. The others loved to brag. 

“Oh right, you wouldn’t know,” Scarlet said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. “Merely a used medical facility turned into SOLDIER killers. It’s our little insurance program against the elite.”

This didn’t sound good, and Reeve’s first thought was to inform Vincent and the others of this fact, making him pause a little bit.

 _Since when have I played double agent? I had not cared before._ Reeve was a bit too nice of a man to be working for Shinra, as most people said when they were talking about him, but he lasted so long because he kept his head down and no one wanted his job. Not power-thirsty, or hungry for money like the others, he’d spent his own time tinkering in robotics until he discovered they would make great tools for spies. 

He worked mostly with the Turks, his heart hurting when he found out about Veld’s demise and the disappearance of all the others. The President, finding out about his hobby, requested that he use his AI as a tool to spy on the so called rebels, and Reeve, having nowhere else to go, accepted. He was a quiet, quiet man, and had learned how manipulative Shinra was with the best of them. Anything people promised came with other promises, and his lofty dream of helping the world and saving the company went further and further away. Too corrupted, he realized and the only way to save it was to destroy it. What better opportunity than the ones who had defected themselves?

Vincent and Nanaki were different. Rather irate, but friendly enough, and willing to save the world no matter what. The Cetra girl, too…she looked straight through Cait Sith and right to him as if believing in him. What he could do was not much but…these people kept their promises. And he’d hold it to them that they would make something better than what Shinra gave them.

“I see,” he said neutrally, shaking himself out of thought. “Will this pose any threat to civilian life?”

“Reeve, the common man’s champion,” Heidigger let out his characteristic laugh and Reeve had to force himself not to make a face. “That doesn’t matter. What matters is the threat to Shinra is eliminated-and the President’s son, of course, gets back safely.”

“Are you and your little doll still keeping an eye on them?” Scarlet asked, her bright eye carving into him. For some reason, Reeve found himself able to stare back at her perfectly calmly.

“Of course. I’ll tell you if anything changes,” he said.

* * *

 

Claudia was almost through with all the weird soldiers and little ninja girls appearing left and right and demanding things from her.

 _I wonder if this is how my son feels,_ she thought as she walked back into the village, Genesis following silently behind. She should’ve suspected that the two of them knew each other, with the similarities of wings and armor, but it didn’t hurt to be suspicious. Claudia kept the axe on her at all times and when she reached the house, always stood between Genesis and Yuffie. 

“This way,” she said curtly, pointing up the staircase to the guest-room. Yuffie was of course, bouncing with questions, but all Claudia would tell her was that ‘the red man is Angeal’s friend.’

She didn’t miss the look on his face as he spotted Angeal in the bed, breathing painfully, nor the way his staggered and slumped, weighed down by who knew what. 

“My friend, why do you fly away now, to a world that abhors you and I? You had abandoned me, why can’t you just let me lie in peace?” Genesis said, finally falling to his knees next to the bed. 

 _Wait, that first line…that was from LOVELESS!_ She remembered Uther had an odd fascination with that play, at least according to what he was researching. Though as to why this strange red-coated man was quoting it, she didn’t know. Maybe he was a big fan.

Claudia was about to say something when out of nowhere Genesis pulled out a needle filled with a weird black sludge. “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?”

Genesis turned around and glared at her. “Saving my friend’s life, with no help from you. He needs this poison to live, until we can find a way to become something other than monsters.”

He just turned back and jabbed the needle into Angeal’s arm before she could protest further, and Yuffie let out a shout. Claudia grabbed the girl by the shoulders, keeping her away from the two men, not wanting Yuffie to get hurt either. 

Her hands curled around the axe, ready to behead Genesis if need be when suddenly a change came over Angeal. No longer was he breathing in pain; the lines on his face smoothed out and his hair was regaining color. The black liquid was all gone and with it, Angeal seemed to be healthy again, looking more like the SOLDIER he was supposed to be.

Angeal’s eyes shot open, his pupils a strange, terrifying green color before settling back to their normal slate blue. 

“Angeal? Are you okay?” She asked hesitantly. Physically he looked fine, but mentally she knew he could be unstable.

“I’m…better,” he answered slowly, looking at his hands. “Genesis? Is that you?”

“I have returned, brother, for better or for worse. All that awaits is a somber morrow, but here we are.” Genesis swept the hair out of his eyes in a dramatic gesture, probably to show how worried he wasn’t.

“You aren’t going to run away from me anymore?”

“Oh, Angeal, you accuse me of so much. I did just save your life, didn’t I?” Genesis was smiling, but it seemed very forced and desperate. Claudia knew that these two were friends, but obviously something had gone down between them that she didn’t know. Wonderful.

“What did you give me? I don’t feel like I’m degrading anymore. I thought that Hollander-“

“Hollander? That slimy excuse of a man had nothing. I’m proud that Zack killed him like the filth he was,” Genesis spat. “I gave you the last remaining Jenova cells. It’s a temporary measure, but we need to find something else. The gift of the goddess.”

Now her mind was whirling and it was time for her to bust in again. “Okay, Jenova? I heard some of the soldiers in town muttering about that. What exactly are you and my son involved in?”

Genesis turned back and gave her a withering glance, which she happily returned. Angeal looked rather startled by her appearance, but she hadn’t made note of her presence beforehand, after all. 

“Oh good. You two are both safe.” Angeal had swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up to his full height, which made Claudia gulp inwardly. She had only seen the man lying down beforehand-he truly was massive. “I want you two to leave and go somewhere safe. It’s not wise to get involved in situations like these.”

“I suppose that’s what you told my son?” She asked, hand on her hip, noting the incredulous expression that passed over Genesis’ face as he heard the conversation. 

“Yes, almost word for word,” he said wryly.

“Then you’ll probably know word for word my response,” Claudia said. “It’s not really safe here for either of us anymore.”

“I should’ve known that boy got his stubbornness from you.” 

“Enough with the pleasantries, are we actually going to do something useful? You aren’t seriously considering bringing these…civilians along with you, are you?” Genesis asked. 

“These civilians are the ones who saved my life. I suggest you be nice to them,” the large SOLDIER replied sternly, to which Genesis just responded with a waving hand.

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t need your damn lecture on honor. I remember that doesn’t apply to me anymore, does it? I’m not a hero. Don’t seem to have friends either,” he hissed.

Claudia and Yuffie kept glancing in between them, the little ninja doing a very good job of keeping her mouth shut. She was right about one thing-Genesis was a very volatile man, and Claudia was again wondering if it was the best idea to team up with him at all, despite his connection to Angeal.

“Genesis-“

“Don’t give me any of that, ‘the bow has left the arrow of the Goddess.’ In other words, you and Sephiroth abandoned me both. For your _other_ friends. For your puppy. For a little blonde boy who is somehow more important than anyone!” 

_Was he talking about my son?_

Genesis continued his rant. “Only her cells are saving me. Can’t you see that, Angeal? To live is to be a monster for me, and if the world cannot accept that fact, it can just come with me. If it will make a monster and abandon it, it will burn!” 

“Genesis!” Angeal raised a hand and brought it down on the red-coated SOLDIER’s face, the slap echoing coldly in this room. “Don’t speak like you are the only one suffering. I was worried about you! So was Sephiroth, despite your goddamned rivalry with him. Stop listening to the madness that Hollander created for you!”

Genesis just stared at his friend in bewilderment. 

“Don’t underestimate the lengths I will go to help those I care about. I abandoned Shinra and Sephiroth with you, did I not? I will save you from this madness too, if my honor has anything to say about it.”

“You…you’re a monster too,” Genesis choked out. 

“No…not anymore. At least I’m trying not to believe that.” Angeal reached out to lightly brush against Genesis’ black wing, which was shedding feathers all over the carpet. “More like an angel.”

“And who told you that, your puppy?”

“Him, yes. And Cloud. He saved my life,” Angeal said, and at the mention of that name, both Claudia and Genesis reacted. So her son had saved this man’s life?

“He…spared me. I wronged him and I wronged the Planet and yet I’m still alive,” Genesis said, growing suddenly introspective. My friend, your desire is the bringer of life…he will lead us to the gift of the Goddess, I’m sure, and maybe we’ll all be saved.”

“Now, this conversation is fascinating and all, but I don’t think we’ll be able to stay here much longer,” Claudia said, causing both of the SOLDIERs to look at her. “I suggest you two decide where you’re going and I know a person who can help us out.”

Yuffie stared up at her. “You mean Miss Tifa?”

“Yes, I mean Miss Tifa. She can probably get us a vehicle of some sort or at least supplies. Okay?” She asked of the two still confused men. Angeal was the first to recover and nodded sagely.

“Yes, and thank you for your assistance. I’ll try to contact Zack as soon as possible to see how Cloud is, I promise.” 

“Thanks,” She smiled and ushered Yuffie out of the room. “Go tell Tifa what we need and don’t be seen. I’m going to go downstairs and pack up.” She glanced over her shoulder at Genesis, who had a strange expression on his face. 

“I need the Gift, Angeal,” she heard as she left the room. Never had she been more conflicted about a single person in her life. At times his face was gentle and reminded her of Cloud-at others, it was vengeful, resembling a fiery angel. 

_I feel sorry for him. If he really thinks that way, it’s just sad._

* * *

 

The Turks had a lot of catching up to do, as evidence about how they kept staring at Reno like he’d dissolve into nothing at any minute. Reno, on the other hand, acted like he died and came back to life was normal routine and started teasing the other three about being worried in the first place.

Cloud, on the other hand, spent as much time as he could with Zack and Aerith. It was reassuring to have his friends warmth and aura comforting him, knowing he was real and alive and not dissolving into black sludge like his dream once said. The one who believed in him so much he searched Gaia for him was back.

“I would totally introduce you to Aerith, but it seems like you two know each other already,” Zack said, staring at the both of them.

“Yeah…sorry about that. I didn’t know what to think because I kept seeing her in my dreams. Now I know why but, uh, yeah.” Cloud shrugged. Being the human WEAPON and last Cetra was weird.

Aerith merely smiled in reassurance. “I had a feeling you were the person Zack was  talking so much about, but I didn’t want to say anything. Besides, it all worked out in the end.”

“Yeah, well, if you consider ‘basically, you were born with the purpose of saving the entire world because you’re like the Golden King reborn or something’ working out in the end, yeah, I suppose so,” Cloud said sarcastically, kicking at the red dirt as they walked all the way back to Cosmo Canyon. 

Two hands this time fell on his shoulders, one from Zack and one from Aerith. “Come on, Spike, don’t think like that. It could be a lot worse.”

“Minerva chose you not just because of that, but because you are a soul apart from other humans. You’d have done it anyway,” Aerith added, the words echoing strangely in Cloud’s mind. _That’s right…the Goddess said that same thing._

Cloud wanted to say something, but couldn’t think of anything fitting, so he just shifted around.

“You joined SOLDIER because you wanted to be a hero, right?” Zack asked, cocking his head much like a dog would. “You’re the best hero Shinra’s had for awhile, lemme tell you that. It’ll be fine.”

_No, that’s you Zack don’t say that-_

“Don’t worry. You have the Lifestream inside of you. That’s the Planet’s will. You’re still human, just with a bit more power.” Aerith smiled and with that one gesture, a knot building up inside Cloud relaxed. He didn’t know how wound up he was, but somehow, Aerith knew exactly what to say, how to reach the most trouble part of his heart. Truly a remarkable person; he could see why Zack liked her so much. 

“Yeah, probably. I’ve stopped trying to make sense of it all. We really need to figure out where Sephiroth and Jenova are,” Cloud said, remembering the non-existing signal that Zack kept getting.

The SOLDIER’s face grew darker. “I can’t find him, and the same with Angeal. Neither of them are answering and I can’t figure out why. There’s something going on, I don’t like it.”

Well, the only thing Cloud knew was they at least had to reach Cosmo Canyon again. Vincent and the rest were waiting, and then they could make a plan.

* * *

 

Yuffie could definitely be stealthy if she wanted to, and she totally was as she avoided all the soldiers and made it over to the Lockhart’s house to find Tifa. She was the only villager who had been reasonably nice to her and Miss Claudia, so she liked the tall girl a bit more than everyone else, but she still didn’t trust her fully. Right now she only trusted her bodyguard and Miss Claudia, so if this was to help them out, she was on the job. 

Thankfully, right as she snuck over, Tifa was leaving the house on some sort of errand probably. Good. Her prey in her sights, Yuffie suddenly popped out from behind a building and ran over to the really tall girl. “Tifa Lockhart!”

The girl in question swung around and brought her fists up, only to lower them, exasperated when she saw who the attacker was. “Yuffie, now’s not the time to play around.” 

The ninja smirked. “I’m not playing around. I’m here on a mission. And you’re my mission!”

Tifa narrowed her eyes in confusion. “A mission? What do you mean?”

“Miss Claudia needs your help to get out of the village and to go and find people. I think she’s looking for her son as well, but it’s probably because of my bodyguard,” Yuffie prattled on, failing to notice Tifa’s sudden interest when she mentioned Claudia’s son.

“So you’re going to leave in search of Cloud and to get away from all the MPs?” Tifa asked,  rushing over to the little ninja. 

“Yes. And Miss Claudia says you’re gonna help us. Now I don’t trust you ‘cause you’re just a civilian, but Angeal and Claudia do, so you’re gonna help us whether you like it or not!” Yuffie said, pointing her finger. Her intimidation tactics were so good. 

Tifa just rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I got it. I can just steal my father’s truck. It’s not like I want to stay here anyway.”

Yuffie thought that was a yes and grabbed her arm to drag her back to the house. 

“Miss Claudia!” She yelled, bursting into the room and startling her and the two large men. “I brought Tifa!”

“Yuffie, you were supposed to ask her, not kidnap her, but good job anyway,” Miss Claudia turned around to smile at them both. “Did she really explain to you whats going on?” 

The red man was glaring Tifa down and she looked a bit nervous under the scrutiny. “You needed help getting out of Nibelheim, right?” 

“That’s correct.” This time her bodyguard spoke up with a friendly smile. “I’m sorry to trouble you, but we really need to get to the Forgotten City on the North continent as quick as possible.”

“Past Bone Village? The legendary Ancient city? You’re going that far?!” Tifa’s eyes bugged out. 

“I was hoping you could get us some form of transportation at least to the ports up north,” Claudia explained while Yuffie ran over to Angeal to grab onto his arm. 

“I can do that. I can even give you cover to get out of here,” Tifa said, crossing her arms. “But in return you have to take me with you.” 

Genesis immediately growled and stood up. “I’m not going to have another little pest-“

“Genesis, silence.” Angeal shut him up and turned his own gaze to the girl standing in front of him. “It would not be wise to come with us. You would not be able to come back, nor would you be safe.”

“I don’t care! I don’t want to be stuck in Nibelheim for the rest of my life, and besides, Cloud’s not coming back here!” She yelled. “I can fight for myself. Besides, Cloud promised…”

Claudia’s face softened, but Yuffie just stared her down. She wasn’t sure if she liked this person or not. Her priorities were wierd and dumb, but whatever. Yuffie was focused on two things. Materia and her friends. Mostly materia. And who knew, maybe this Tifa would have some good materia.

“I don’t approve of your choices, but fine. You can come with us, just know that you’ll be marked a criminal and your life will be in danger,” Claudia said sternly, but Tifa just nodded eagerly. 

“I know! I’ll just go and get my dad’s truck and we’ll be out of here in no time!” She said and left, the house falling to silent.

“Why the Forgotten City?” Claudia slowly asked, breaking up the strange tension. Genesis, who still looked displeased with all of his companions was the one to answer. 

“That is where the Gift of the Goddess lies.”

Yuffie hoped that whatever this gift of the goddess was, it involved materia somehow.

* * *

 

“And just who the fuck are you punks?” Upon return to Cosmo Canyon, they were of course assaulted immediately by Cid and Vincent-well, mostly Cid. Vincent just sort of stared and nodded.

“Who the hell ya callin’ a punk, old man?” Reno shot back, falling back into their roles of bickering duo. Cloud would’ve rolled his eyes if it weren’t for the fact that he’d travelled with the two for the past couple of weeks and could easily tune it out.

“You said you were gonna come back with some help, not more Shinra folk!” Cid yelled, his arms gesturing wildly.

“Excuse you? Have you not heard the news? _These Shinra folk defected from the military and are marked as wanted criminals, asshole,”_ Reno sneered back. Cloud still couldn’t get over his outfit, and now that he’d seen Vincent and Reno together in the same area for an extended amount of time, he couldn’t help but marvel their similarities. All red, black and metal, with the strange glowing eyes and ridiculous shoes-which Reno constantly complained about. He was _wearing heels_ after all.

“I’ve never seen anyone willing to argue with Reno that much,” Cissnei said, impressed. The other Turks were also watching, interested in the show, but Cloud merely sighed.

“Reno, will you shut up? That’s not helping at all. Can we at least tell Zack and the others what’s going on without you getting into a hissy fit with Cid?” Cloud asked.

Reno, true to character, just gave him the finger, though he did shut up and turn back to the group. 

“It ain’t a hissy fit…” Cid grumbled into a corner and just lit another cigarette, since Nanaki wasn’t around to complain.

Vincent was the one to pick up and curtly explain in the fewest words possible what was going on, all the while immune to the scrutiny Tseng was placing him under.

“You are Vincent Valentine, are you not? Veld’s previous partner,” Tseng said, staring at the tall man.

“Yes.”

“You were reported dead.”

“Yes I was. But rumors of my demise are far exaggerate,” Vincent finished, his face buried in his cape. “Though ironically, I seemed to have survived my partner.”

A strange expression flitted across the Turk leader’s face, but he let it be after that. Zack was still looking around, rather confused, and Rude refused to leave Reno’s side. This proved to be useful when Reno opened his mouth again to speak, but instead of words, a strange black substance came out instead.

“Reno?” Cloud asked, panicked. _This was just like before!_

Reno tried to speak, but he just keeled over, shaking. Only a few seconds passed before he started coughing, every single one shaking his slender flame as the black blood continued to get expelled. “RENO!” 

Both Aerith and Cloud rushed over, but Rude, standing next to him managed to catch him before he fell and laid him gently on the ground. Reno’s good eye was glowing horribly bright with mako and blood was starting to leak out of them in small tear drops. He was making choking noises, but his tense muscles didn’t allow the Turk to scream as much as Cloud knew he wanted to. 

There were other people shouting but only Aerith’s voice rang through. “Cloud, put your hand on him!” 

He did so, and just like before, Reno calmed down, though he was still coughing up black blood. They stayed like this for only a minute before soft padding was heard and the group turned towards the path leading into the town. Nanaki and a strange looking mechanical cat doll were waiting there for them.

“The mako in his body is both healing him and destroying him at the same time,” Nanaki said, eliciting surprised reactions from those who didn’t know him.

“Yeah? An’ what’re we supposed to do ‘bout that?” Cid growled, casting a worried glance back at the now quiet Turk.

“Bring him to the fire pit. All will be explained and so will our plan of attack. It’s time we did somethin’!” The cat doll said, bouncing on top on Nanaki’s back. “I got loads to tell ya!”

And so they did, with Rude helping Reno get up off the ground. Cloud wondered what exactly new was happening but he doubted it was anything good.

* * *

Sephiroth was wandering and he didn’t know where he was. There was a voice calling him, calling him to places he’d never heard of, telling him to do things he had never planned, that he was a king a god, to let himself go into the madness-

Vincent had warned him. Vincent had warned him of his wrath and hatred and what Hojo had done. A slow burning anger had been lit when he realized he was just a toy SOLDIER to Shinra, but he had held it together for the sake of his friends. For the sake of the blonde Cloud telling him he was so much more than a monster.

He had believed Cloud then, but Cloud wasn’t around now to tell him the truth again. He felt like a monster. He was going with Zack, he’d been following him in hopes Cloud would come back to him, but something had happened. He’d run into a strange machine in the woods that was rather tough even for him to kill. No match for him, but nothing he’d seen before.

And then another. And another. 

It was not a coincidence; they were coming for him. Shinra wanted their toy SOLDIER back or dead, and Sephiroth loathed to be a puppet for anything, even if Shinra was all he had. He’d found a bit more than just Shinra and he was loathe to lose it now.

So he ran away. Zack would not come to harm if he went through the woods, killing all the strange metal monsters and Jenova powered fiends. Perhaps he could find Angeal and Genesis and protect what few connections he had left.

_So strange to be obsessed with protecting instead of destroying. Is this truly a job for the Demon of Wutai?_

No matter. He could protect by destroying. He was the Silver General, a god among men. 

And south, south he went until he realized he was being led by Her, but when he realized it was far too late.

**Come, my son. To the Temple of the Ancients. Here you will find a Gift that will allow us to rule all.**

He’d succumbed to the madness at last.


	35. Split Ends

The fire crackled merrily in front of him, but his mood was anything but cheery. Cloud was definitely sad and annoyed to say the least, Reno laid out next to him, grinning up at him like he hadn’t just nearly died. The comfort was in the fact that both Zack and Aerith were there to help him, but he couldn’t get over a sinking feeling in his stomach he couldn’t explain.

He learned the cat doll’s name was Cait Sith, and Rude seemed to recognize him. Tseng and Cissnei had vanished awhile back, but Cloud didn’t really care about their agendas right now. Nanaki, the native of Cosmo Canyon and a very intelligent looking lion, was sniffing at Reno’s face, who looked less than pleased at the scrutiny. 

“Do you mind?” The red-head said, batting Nanaki’s muzzle away. The lion really didn’t look phased at all, sitting back on his haunches.

“You have a sickness inside of you. I presume that you weren’t always this way?” Nanaki asked, quieting the murmured conversations of other party members. Zack and Cid had been engaged in some sort of staring contest while Aerith was just taking in the landscape, but they all drew their attention to the matter back at hand. 

“It’s called I was stabbed through the chest by Genesis an’ dragged back to life by this idiot here,” Reno said, flicking his wrist at Cloud before sitting up. “Minerva said that she’d bring me back to life, but she didn’ say nothin’ about me randomly puking up black blood, yo!” 

“That’s because you have mako poisoning, and a very severe case at that. Essentially, your body is at war with yourself, both being dissolved by the large amounts of mako-and other substances-and being healed at a rapid rate.” Nanaki’s words rang coldly through Cloud’s heart. He hadn’t meant to make Reno suffer by bringing him back! This couldn’t be his fault, could it? 

“Ow,” Was all Reno could say to that. “No way to fix it?”

“None that I know of. I asked Grandfather, but something like what happened to you hasn’t existed for thousands of years. I am surprised I recognized the scent myself,” Nanaki said, his head drooping. Almost on instinct, Cloud reached out to pat his head, drawing his hand back when he realized the lion probably didn’t want to be treated like a pet. He didn’t draw away, though, so Cloud just petted him a couple of times before Nanaki smiled back at him. Or at least, what looked like a smile.

“Paaaardon me, miss, you’re the Ancient girl that Tseng knows about, aren’t ya? I’d recognize you anywhere!” The robotic cat doll was at it again. Aerith merely looked confused at the statement while Zack narrowed his eyes, shifting in his seat a bit in case he had to leap up and behead the stuffed creature. 

“Yes, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before,” Aerith said, studying the doll. “Unless you mean I’ve met the real you.”

Cait Sith cocked his head to one side. “You mean my creator? Nah, he never leaves the Shinra building. I travel around in the slums all the time, so it ain’t hard to hear the story of the girl who can grow flowers in her church!”

“Ah! That makes sense. Nice to meet you, Cait Sith.” Aerith took a paw in her hand and shook it. “And nice to meet you…”

“Reeve Tuesti.” A deep voice sound from behind them, and everyone but Cloud and Reno jumped. Vincent had snuck up behind them, silent as ever to rejoin the conversation. “He told me.”

“Reeve Tuesti? As in the head of Urban Development, a board member?” Reno asked, sitting up again. “Oh, hey it’s Cait. ‘sup.” 

The rest of the group stared at him. 

“Ya tellin’ me not only have I had to travel with a bunch a’ Turks, now we’ve gotta executive hangin’ on to our every move?” Cid sputtered around his cigarette. “How d’ we know you ain’t a spy?!”

“A fair concern there, mate!” Cait Sith said, turning his perpetually smiling face towards the angry man. “I usually am used as a spy for th’ Turks but this time I can guarantee ya I ain’t workin’ for Shinra!”

Reeve Tuesti, where had he heard that name before? Cloud was deep in thought, missing Zack and Cid’s next line of questioning. Reeve Tuesti….oh right! He’d not only seen him once walking around in the Shinra building, but Ellie, Reno’s caretaker had mentioned him and how he was the reason most of the orphanages were still in place in the slums. 

“To tell you the truth, I didn’t know what you guys were doin’ or why you were tryin’ against a power you couldn’t beat.” Cait Sith had suddenly turned serious and the mood change was so swift everyone stopped to listen. “But you’re tryin’ to escape anyway. Even if it seems impossible, you’re tryin’ to help others and want to bring change around instead of just runnin’ away.”

Cloud felt a bit sick at that statement. It wasn’t entirely false, but not entirely true either. He had wanted to escape, to not be thought of as a monster, to save all of his friends and become stronger; but he hadn’t even thought about using all of this strange power he had to save the world until Minerva had mentioned it. He was so selfish…

“‘cause I’m here with a proposition for y’all. Shinra is doin’ more than creatin’ monsters. AVALANCHE is right, y’know, they’re-we’re also killin’ the Planet slowly, and I don’t even wanna know what’s goin’ on with Hojo. The President’s greed is stranglin’ us all and givin’ us a dead planet in return for a giant pile of money. Now I know you guys have other things to worry about, but this involves you too.

“Right now, you are in the unique position of rebelling against Shinra and giving them hell of all kinds. Of tearing down this poisoned infrastructure and building up a new world with a future brighter than this one. Finding Jenova and taking her down is the Planet’s task for you, I know. I don’t wish to add to your burden, but I have no choice. I want a better world, and my position isn’t serving me any well. My question for you is, are you going to work for a better future as well? There is a lot more riding on you than you know.”

There was absolute silence after Cait Sith dropped his bombshell. Cloud looked around the fire and nobody knew what to think, not even Aerith. They had been so wrapped up in Jenova and saving people that they’d forgotten about consequences of their actions. And now here, a Shinra executive was correcting them. How horrible were they?

“I’m…sorry, I don’t know how much I can promise that,” Cloud finally said, everyone turning to look at him. He swallowed thinly-here he was, the chosen hero of the Planet, and he didn’t know what to do. “I’m supposed to kill Jenova and if I don’t do that, we won’t have a future to even rebel against what we’re doing. You’re right, I’ve never thought about that, but I think it was because my goal was…saving my friends. And trying to save all the people who deserve a second chance or whatever the Goddess told me. I don’t think I could save an entire planet for everyone, but I wanna do it regardless. Even if it was for the few people that I’m trying to save, it wouldn’t be worth much if they didn’t have a Planet to return to.”

He looked up to find everyone staring at him. Perhaps it was what he said, or the way he said it, or even just the fact that he’d spoken so much, but it wasn’t what they were expecting. However, one face was different than all of the others: Aerith was smiling. Reassured by her, he kept on going. “I don’t think I can do all of it. I’m just one person. But I do promise to help you if that’s what you want to do. I just…I’m only human. And I need to kill the Calamity.”

A different silence reigned this time, and he could feel Reno and Vincent both around him, but he didn’t want to look. For a long time, Cloud thought the cat would answer until the doll finally whirled back to life. “You are everything I’ve been told and more, Cloud Strife.”

“You’re right, you’re only one person. But all I want right now is for you to know the stakes of your championship. And a willingness to set the Planet on the right course. Gaia is still young, you know. It needs as much help as it can get, especially if we’re the ones killin’ it.” Cait Sith hopped lightly from one foot to another.

“So what’s your point in all of this?” Zack asked, still stricken by the conversation at first. 

“I’ll help you. In return, you help me,” Cait Sith said. 

“Sound’s good to me, yo.” Reno yawned, stretching out his arms. “Any inside info on Shinra is all good.”

Cloud wished he could be as carefree as his Turk friend, but he had business to conduct. “Does Shinra or Hojo know where Jenova is at all?” He actually had a feeling that by fighting Jenova he’d be fighting Shinra itself, and this just confirmed it.

“No. They don’t tell me things like thae anyway!” Cait Sith’s accent returned as he switched on full AI mode again. “All I know is their sendin’ Deepground after ya, which is the other reason I wanted to know if ya’d fight Shinra.”

The group looked among each other, confused. Deepground sounded familiar to him as well, but he didn’t know where he’d heard it. Zack and Reno were just as clueless and asking Aerith, Cid, or Vincent would just be useless-they weren’t that involved with Shinra. Nanaki had sat up, knowing something important had been said. 

“Deepground?” He uttered at the little puppet, who nodded. 

“Don’t ya go askin’ me what it is, it seems only Scarlet, Heidigger an’ Hojo do, top secret of aaaaall top secrets!” Cait Sith laughed.

“Wait a minute, Nibelheim mansion!” Reno suddenly said, knocking his foot against the log he was sitting on and cursing. The color had finally returned to his face. 

“What?” Zack said dumbly. “What about it?”

“Remember me and Cloudy lookin’ through the secret lab’s bookshelf? I found somethin’ in there that mentioned it! All I remember was that it mentioned Genesis and medical facilities, and even Sephiroth had never heard about it,” Reno said, triggering something in Cloud’s memory. He remembered that now; none of them put any stock into it because it hadn’t seemed important at the time.

“Scarlet calls it their insurance plan against SOLDIER, an’ with all you lads defectin’ at once, I’m afraid they’ve activated something that they believe will guarantee them victory.”

 _If they were the ones to create SOLDIER….and if Hojo created things to stop them…I have a bad feeling about this._ They seemed so confident about it too, and from what little Cloud had seen of the horrors Hojo and Shinra had created, he knew they could keep their word.

“How the hell are we gonna fight against something like that?” Zack asked, harried. “We don’t really have any resources to do anything with, and just traveling around with what little we have isn’t gonna get us anywhere!”

“And that is where I come in.” Another unfamiliar voice spoke out of the rim of firelight-it seemed to be a running theme. However, Cloud hadn’t sensed this one coming, though Reno, strangely, had. 

“Sir!” He shouted, standing up and nearly falling over himself again. Worried, Cloud whirled around, only to see the smug face of one Rufus Shinra.

* * *

 

Claudia was going to murder someone by the end of this. Not only was she  suddenly on a random trip to a continent she’d never been to, but she’d along the way adopted three children: Yuffie, Tifa, and Genesis. 

Getting out of Nibelheim was easy enough. True to her word, Tifa stole her father’s truck, which Claudia only slightly protested against since she wasn’t at all fond of the man, and after hiding the two SOLDIERs in the back, they rumbled out of the village, under the guise that Claudia was taking a short trip with the two children to buy some supplies. 

 _And fuck it if I ever come back to those ungrateful bastards._ Well, it wasn’t entirely true, since it was home and it was where she and Cloud had grown up together, so she still had an attachment to the place. The people still could stand to be somewhat nicer and less backwards; she’d seen the look Cloud had on his face after he came home.

Genesis had lasted about ten minutes buried in the back of the truck before he got annoyed and decided to sit on top, grumbling to himself. Angeal pulled him back down when people came by on chocobos and such, but Claudia was still annoyed. Yuffie wouldn’t stop talking, and Tifa kept trying to show off her skills, though at the first disasterous monster encounter, she had learned her lesson and helped Claudia reign in the others instead. 

She was grateful for Tifa’s presence because frankly, she needed all the help she could get. Not even Angeal was co-operating that well, attempting to fight all the monsters by himself and arguing with Genesis at every hour of the day. She had no idea what they were talking about, only that they mentioned Sephiroth and Jenova a lot. 

Yuffie helped by gathering materia and items, though Claudia didn’t ask where she got them from. Tifa, having only left Nibelheim a few times before, was readily adapting to the situation and excited to see all the sights and monsters she’d only read about it books, though Claudia had to remind her that this was still a dangerous mission and she needed to calm down. 

At least Angeal was giving her a few pointers on her martial arts skills, which was helping greatly when mako-powered monsters, from the Lifestream eruption, attacked. They all could fight, but only Angeal and Genesis were actually strong enough to fight them off alone, and Claudia didn’t want Yuffie or Tifa involved. 

In the end of the day, she could not get Cloud out of her mind. Her lovely son, somewhere out in the world, struggling with becoming SOLDIER, and dealing with the aftermath of disappearing. She desperately hoped he’d be okay, since there was no one around to give a progress report. No one knew anything, and it was frustrating finding out information on her only child, information that kept her up at night. 

Which led to Genesis. She suspected that he knew more than he was telling her, because he hadn’t attacked when he saw Claudia’s face. Genesis knew Cloud; that much was certain. But no one could pry anything out of him except Angeal, and occasionally Yuffie if she annoyed him enough. 

“How did you meet Cloud?” She asked one time, a rare moment when he was sitting shotgun instead of Angeal, having been forced to stand watch. 

“Hm.” All Genesis did was make a noise and shift in his seat, and she let out a breath. Well of course he wouldn’t talk to her.

“He stopped me from trying to kill my best friend,” Genesis said, causing the car to swerve slightly as Claudia gripped harder on the wheel. 

“And just why were you trying to do that?” She asked, very, very calmly. No wonder she didn’t trust this man. If she had looked, she would’ve seen Genesis leaning against the window with a distant look on his face, but she was far too focused on the road. 

“I was angry at him.”

“Why?”

“Is that all you ask?” Genesis growled.

“I’m a mother. Of course it is, Genesis. I want to know just why I can trust you.”

“You’re worse than Angeal. I was angry at him because he abandoned me.”

Silence reigned.

“Weren’t you the one that ran away?” She asked. He was the defected SOLDIER after all, and this friend of his-

“He didn’t come with me! He wanted to stay and Shinra and play being a hero, because he never cared enough in the first place!” Genesis shouted, angry, his presence filling the car. Before Claudia could worry, it shrank back in on itself and became so very tiny, she had a hard time believing he was the same man. He muttered a couple of LOVELESS lines and sank back into the seat. 

“Don’t worry about your son, Lady Strife. I’m sure he’ll try to kill me the next time he sees me and then you won’t have to deal with it anymore,” Genesis said with a grin in his voice.

Well, that said that her son was at least alive and kicking, but not much more. White knuckles clutched the steering wheel. 

“And why would he do that?”

“Because I DID kill his best friend.”

Claudia slammed on the brakes, causing the car to jerk to a stop and Genesis almost getting flung forward. His reflexes were of course, too good, but she didn’t care. “You _what?!”_

Genesis was looking panicked and angry for some reason. “The arrow had left the bow of the Goddess. I hadn’t planned on it, it just happened! Things get carried away in the heat of the battle, and actions you wrought cannot be undone. And then the eyes of the betrayed burn your soul into ashes until you become the devil himself.” Genesis waxed poetic as he curled up and transformed himself into a pouting child. She nearly rolled his eyes. _You would think he just broke a window or something by looking at him._

She must have opened her mouth because he responded again before she could. “Don’t worry, Lady Strife, your son is fine. Even after he destroyed the Shinra headquarters and took a plunge into the Lifestream. I made sure of that.”

 _What the…_ the entire world had heard about the destruction at Midgar and the subsequent disruption of the Lifestream, but the cause of it had been highly classified. Could it really have been Cloud this entire time? And Genesis had made sure of it…

“Your son is more of a hero than I could hope to ever be.” The line was so quiet, but she heard it nonetheless, tears springing to her eyes. Cloud, and Genesis…so much of this man had reminded her of her son at times, in the rare moments he wasn’t angry at the world. He’d done some terrible things, but what were Angeal and Genesis traveling to the Forgotten City for? Redemption, that was why. And it was the least she could do to help them along the way. Claudia may not have trusted Genesis as far as she could throw him, but there was something hidden beneath his black feathers, and that much at least, she could trust. 

The rumble of the engine started and they slowly peeled away through the dust.

* * *

Needless to say, the group was surprised when Rufus Shinra of all people had shown up. They were even more surprised when he pledged to help their newly formed resistance group take down Shinra. Well, Reno wasn’t; he’d explained to Cloud how Rufus had not only helped fund AVALANCHE before, but absolutely loathed his father. And while Cloud didn’t quite trust anyone with the name Shinra attached to them, there wasn’t much he could do.

Besides, Rufus had been onto him just as long as Hojo had. 

While they were camping out at Cosmo Canyon, Zack had suddenly got a phone call from Angeal of all people. Cloud didn’t miss the way Zack’s face lit up, nor the eagerness at which he responded; the SOLDIER had missed his mentor dearly, and Cloud and Aerith’s presence could only go so far. However, all Angeal had mentioned was something about the Forgotten City, that he and Genesis were headed there, and the line went dead.

There were too many things to do. Cloud had looked around at the flickering fire, at the faces illuminated, one by one, and realized he was not alone. He was the Golden WEAPON but he himself could only do so much, and here they were, willing to help…it had never occured to him before. Cloud had the tendency to take everything on himself and try to run away from other people, but the whole world was too big for even him to handle. He didn’t even know where to begin.

But like this, he could at least try.

It was strange to hear people listen to his quiet voice, but when he did speak, they listened and agreed. He told them to split up, and each handle something themselves, and that he trusted them, and they had nodded and smiled.They had _listened._ Was this what a leader felt like? 

Aerith’s eyes had lit up when she had heard the Forgotten City and immediately demanded to be taken there, pleading Zack. He didn’t need to be asked twice, as where he mentor was, he was going to be. A horrible look had crossed his face after he realized that even though they had just come together, he would be abandoning Cloud again, and held the blonde tight because of it. 

He reassured his SOLDIER friend everything would be fine; they had PHS and he had Reno, and it wasn’t like he was going to fall into the Lifestream again. Zack nodded and apologized, and they had left on their own path. The Turks continued to protect Rufus and be the source of information, for their contacts ranged far and wide, and they were always on the move. Rude stayed. Cloud didn’t question it and neither did Reno, but wherever the red-head was, his partner was going to be. It would be helpful in finding Tseng anyway. 

It had only been a day since Zack and Aerith left-hoping against hope they wouldn’t find any Deepground soldiers-when Cloud suddenly got a dream. A dream of death and destruction, a strange pyramid and a deathly black materia, a silver-haired man with a long sword, holding a Keystone in his hand while he left destruction behind him-

Sephiroth.

Cloud was going to find him, and put an end to Jenova’s cradle once more. A horrible feeling in his stomach knew that if Jenova did drive Sephiroth to madness, all his hard work would be lost and no one would be saved. 

 _You aren’t getting your hands on that. Not you or your Gaia-forsaken Mother._ Lucrecia was his mother, not a monster. He needed-he needed Cloud. Jenova was on the rise and he would be there to stop him.

Reno followed, his loyal herald, along with Rude and surprisingly Cid, grumbling something about damn kids. He’d been pleased about the rebellion against Shinra and decided to stick along. Vincent had stayed behind in Cosmo Canyon with Nanaki and Cait Sith, but Cloud saw the fire in his eyes and knew he wouldn’t remain there much longer. 

It was time for them to move, and time for the uprising to begin. 

* * *

_Aerith, why was I chosen of all people to become a WEAPON?_

_Silly, I thought I already told you this. She chose you because you already were one._

_I was destined to kill people?_

_No. To be a hero._

_…_ _.._

_Cloud, I had a dream once. I saw Zack…he was covered in blood. So were you and you were crying. Sephiroth was there, and he was so scary. His eyes were like a madman's. I couldn't bear it. I knew you were crying and in that future the Planet was scared too. It didn't want to die and it didn't want you to suffer. So we gave you the chance._

_So then, that time in Modeoheim?_

_I just gave you a push in the right direction. You did the rest, and you've already done so much._

_But..I'm not strong enough. What if I'm not strong enough to save the world?_

_Dilly-dally, shilly-shally! Cloud, you're not alone. Remember that._

_I…yeah, thanks._

_Bad things will come for you soon, but I believe in you. Take care of yourself Cloud, I'll always be here._

_I'll try to be too, Aerith. And...take care of Zack for me._

The last thing I remember was her smile _. Will do._


	36. Simpler Times

Reno didn’t like it, but he was scared. 

He didn’t tell Cloud, he didn’t tell Cid, he didn’t even tell Rude-hell, he didn’t tell himself, but he was very, very scared. Ever since the first time the old man had crashed the plane and he had puked up black blood everywhere, he was scared. Him having his stupid magical transformation only went so far and finally hearing Nanaki’s reasoning behind his constant pain didn’t really help his state of mind. 

He was being destroyed from the inside out. Some deal the Goddess cut with him. 

Cloud didn’t know any of that. To him, it just looked like Reno was being an ass as usual-or at least, that’s what he hoped. The red-head had never exactly prepared for a situation where he would become a warrior of the Planet. 

Enough was bothering his friend. He’d woken up shouting from a terrible dream a couple days ago, saying they needed to go south to the Temple of the Ancients and get some sort of materia before Sephiroth did. He wasn’t very clear on what exactly needed to happen or how this pertained to Jenova, but there was little Reno could do other than trust him.

He was glad Rude was back and with them. He had been somewhat afraid they’d forgotten about him; after all, that’s what happened to Turks that died. But Rude’s soft voice filled him in on everything that had happened, and he didn’t know what to think. They had defected because of him. _Well, there were probably a lotta stupid political reasons they split off too but, Tseng…_

They’d drawn it close before with the whole fiasco with Veld, but life had returned to normal. If there was one thing he could say about Tseng, is that he always looked out for his fellow Turks, and taking them all with him was a bold move. Of course, there weren’t that many left, but it was the thought that counted. 

Enough. He wasn’t one to brood, and he was missing out on glorious arguments with the old man. Arguments and tree stumps which kept him stumbling because his depth perception was still shot.

“Well at least one of us is laughing,” Reno sneered in Cid’s direction, after than man tripped over a hole himself laughing at the Turk. “You really sure its wise to teach me how to use a goddamn spear if I’m gonna shove it up your ass?”

“Jus’ you try, kid, and the Goddess’ll hafta drag you back out of hell again!” Cid chortled, choking a bit on his cigarette. 

“I can’t take any more a’ this. Cloud! When are we gonna get there?!” Reno suddenly asked, only slightly worried with how quiet his friend was. Cloud started, not realizing he was being talked to.

“What? Uh, I don’t know. It’s gonna be awhile, unless we can like fly or something.”

“I got ya kids covered there! Shera called and she’s sendin’ us a plane I can use,” Cid growled, a smile on his face. 

“How does she even know where you are?” Reno questioned.

“You Turk should know, a tracker fitted into my PHS. Isn’t that how you guys do it?” 

Cloud shot Reno a glare, telling him to silently not get into any more fights, but hey, that was a lost cause. At least maybe they wouldn’t have to walk as far and risk tripping over more tree branches and throwing up more blood. He fell back so he was finally walking next to his partner, just like in the old days. “I kinda miss when it wasn’t so crazy, yo.”

Rude merely shrugged. “Can’t say it wasn’t like that then.”

* * *

 

Angeal had managed to snag a phone and send through a very scratchy phone call to his student, telling him where they were headed before the signal cut out and was lost. In truth, it had been wonderful to hear his voice again, to reassure himself that his former student was doing fine without his help. He had heard about the murder of Hollander-the wounds suspiciously close to a Buster Sword. On one hand, the man had been his father, but on the other…he had twisted his ideals and turned him into a monster, causing his mother to take her own life. 

It wasn’t relevant anymore and whatever happened in the past had to stay there. What was important was the breathing presence under the red coat that was sitting next to him. He’d gone so far without seeing any sign of Genesis, not knowing if his friend were okay or if he’d lost him forever, but waking up to find him there…he had hope again. 

Perhaps Cloud and Zack was right. Perhaps there was enough of his friend worth saving. He hadn’t harmed Yuffie and Claudia, after all. In fact, ever since that night he spent in the car with Cloud’s mother, he was more proactive about protecting the group. Angeal didn’t question it, though…it was Genesis. He didn’t want his friend slipping through his fingers again. 

Yuffie was the same as always, though they had stopped in a nearby town to tell her parents she hadn’t been kidnapped, though she refused to return no matter how stern Angeal was with her. It reminded him a bit of his puppy when he was younger-it hurt his heart to think about that.

As for Tifa, he still didn’t know what to make of her. Once she’d gotten the ground beneath her, the girl was surprisingly helpful, and he’d been teaching her more of the martial arts she loved so much. There was a way her face transformed every time Cloud was mentioned and he wondered what exactly happened between them. Was this the reason she was coming along? Was this the person Cloud had said he made a promise to?

It wasn’t his place to ask, so he didn’t, but he knew what childhood friendship was like. The dusty truck drove on, pounding the vibrations into his skull, as he remembered the scent of dumb apples and the sound of Genesis’ laughter. If only it could be that way again…

* * *

 

Cid had left the party not long after he announced that Shera was sending a plane, zooming back overhead soon after with a roar of laughter. Reno had complained he didn’t trust his piloting skills, to which Cid told him to sit down and shut up. Rude and Cloud just entered the plane quietly, this one being a bit bigger, and they were off to the Temple of the Ancients. 

It was horribly quiet in the back, without Cid there to argue, and any quiet question he proposed to Reno was shut down instantly. Cloud was getting frustrated-he thought that falling through the Lifestream together would bring them together, not….this. Hell, he’d even…no, Cloud promised himself not to think about the thing that happened in Cid’s house. 

The red-head himself was pale, so Cloud had a feeling he was masking all the pain he was in and it was frustrating. He wasn’t coughing up blood, but when he finally keeled over to sleep, the blonde rested his hand on Reno’s side, and he immediately relaxed. At the very least, he could do this for him, even if he refused to talk. 

The plane had shook, Cid suddenly swearing about ‘damn birds’ or something along those lines and took a sharp dive downwards. Cloud crashed into Rude, who was about as immovable as a brick wall and scrambled upwards. 

“What the hell was that?! Please tell me we aren’t gonna crash again!” Cloud yelled, stumbling his way to the cockpit. Peering out with Cid, he saw strange flying contraptions circling around and swarming the plane. 

“Fuckin’ hell, we were almost at the Temple!” Cid shouted over the roar of engines as he swerved to the right again. He was doing a good job avoiding them all, but the pilot  could only do so much. Besides, to even land the plane, they had to get through a full nest of the strange flying things that were hovering below them. 

“Shit, that’s not good…” Cloud muttered, looking at them. Was this the Deepground thing Cait Sith was talking about? 

“You tellin’ me! Can’t your weird magical powers do something’ about that?” 

“I just got them like three days ago! How would I know?!” Cloud said angrily back, holding onto the frame to steady himself. Reno and Rude were behind him, wondering what the hell was going on, and he backed up to show them. 

Reno merely whistled in amazement, shifting his cape around over his shoulder. “Yo, so we need to get around that to land by the Temple?”

Cloud had a sinking feeling something insane was about to happen, and he was perfectly correct. Apparently they were more connected than the blonde thought, because Reno grinned at the exact same moment Cloud’s stomach dropped. 

‘Hey, you know that wing I have?”

“No.”

“Oh come on, it’ll be fun-“

“NO.”

And of course, three seconds later, they were stood by an open door, ready to jump out without a parachute, the only person he had to trust was Reno and his weird monster form. Truthfully, he should’ve been grateful the red-head was showing his usual spirit and that maybe things could go back to normal, but the time for normal was all past. He needed to get his head out of the sand and stop dragging everyone down.

“Okay fine. But if we die again, I’m not dragging you back out,” Cloud said, grinning just slightly.

That got Reno to open up fully. “Of course, my boy, why would I be thinking that? Rude, the hatch!”

The other Turk shoved the door open. “See you on the flip side.”

It was so silent, so beautifully quiet for a minute, with just the sound of the engine and wind ripping at his clothing and hair, before the panic set in. It had just hit him that he was falling, falling without a lifeline and he was gonna die-

The sun flashed and a beautiful red wing opened up above him, spreading its feathers into the sky. There was a sharp jerk around Cloud’s arms and knees as Reno suddenly grabbed onto him and halted their descent. 

He looked up at Reno, only too see the face covered in a helmet, looking much like Vincent did when he turned into Chaos. A deep hum resonated through him-he was in the arms of his Herald, and with him by his side, he could conquer the world.

“You know, I’m surprised that Rude and Cid didn’t question what we were doing,” Cloud said, unable to really form anything else coherent to say.

“I think they’re just used to our idiocy by now,” Reno said, his voice sounding strange, but still playful. “Shall we?” 

With some difficulty, Cloud drew the sword he kept on his back. “I haven’t had some fun for awhile.”

Reno beat his upside down wings and shot off towards the strange monsters in the sky. The two of them working in complete tandem, set upon the Deepground creations from above, so fast they never saw what was coming. 

Reno immediately dropped Cloud, who stabbed one creature through the head and leapt to another one before it could fall completely. Slashing that ones wings he fell until a flash of crimson flew by and hauled him upwards again, enough to catch onto one of the monsters legs and fly. 

It was exhilarating. He could feel the mako and the blood rushing through his veins, combining into a unstoppable fountain of power every time he rushed through the air. It was as if the wind itself was giving him wings, and it was the greatest freedom he’d ever felt.

If this is what it meant to be a WEAPON, he could deal with it. 

He fell quickly back to earth, accidentally taking out a couple that had swarmed beneath him, trying to catch him in a pincer attack. It was hard concentrating on a 3d plane like this to fight-Reno was having one hell of a time, but he had been trained to fly choppers. Out of the corner of his eye, he could always see a flash of crimson or a streak of lightning fly across the sky and soon after an enemy would fall. He just knew the red-head was loving it, rejoicing in being alive. He was in the sky he so longed for, after all.

There was a close call with a few of them, but the plane had flown by and all Cloud had seen was a burst of flame-he’d have to thank Rude later. The SOLDIER couldn’t even tell how many were left, but he fell towards the ground again catching Reno and the last minute, balancing on his spear and jumping directly into a snarling monster’s face. 

The aerial battle had taken them way down, close enough to the ground that he could see the individual trees, and the plane was nowhere in sight. Taking that as a good sign, he and Reno finished of the last. With a final burst from Cloud’s materia, Reno charged up his spear and called forth the biggest electrical storm he could muster, both of them hitting the ground, floating with the burning feathers that fell around them.

There were crashing of bodies and tree limbs, but other than that, it had quieted down around them, not a single monster call to be heard. Cloud took a minute to catch his breath before looking over at Reno, and the crimson angel he’d become. The wings were already bleeding away into his cape and he collapsed, the SOLDIER rushing forward to catch him. A bit of black blood dribbled out of the red-head’s mouth, and Cloud worriedly wiped it away. Had him transforming caused this? Was that why Reno was so silent this whole trip over?

He didn’t have much more time to think about anything before he heard more rustling in the forest and the click of at least a dozen guns. Cloud looked up, nearly growling. How had they snuck up on him? He had mako senses-

A small fragment of sunlight glinted off a pair of glasses as Professor Hojo of all people stepped into view. “I see you haven’t changed at all, Cloud. You’re a very hard person to find.”

His blue eyes darted back and forth. His chances of escape were next to none, since he refused to leave Reno behind, but he had to try. As if they read his mind, a couple of the soldiers sprang forward with inhuman speed- _shit, they were enhanced!-_ and all he saw was the hard barrel of a gun flying straight towards his face.

* * *

_When he finally fell, he dreamed of a simpler time, when all he had worried about was passing the SOLDIER test. Too much had changed, and I don’t know if it’s worth it._

_The Planet wished to answer, but it was sick with its own problems. It could only rely on Cloud becoming strong enough to answer on his own._

* * *

 

Rude and Cid stared in shock, the plane making slow circles around the site that once used to be the Temple of the Ancients. It not longer existed, but was a giant pile of broken rock and structures cracked asunder, and in the middle, a vortex of wind. 

The destruction had been enough, but there was something in the middle that had caused even Rude to break his facade and pray to whoever was listening that he was just hallucinating. 

In the middle was Sephiroth, Black Materia in hand.

* * *

 

**_And soon, He shall become Mine._ **


	37. Run!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have no excuse for this being late, but I lost inspiration and got wound up into life and finding new games/anime and job and school and just sort of left it behind. So I would just like to say that I'm sorry it took me so long to finally update this.  
> I havent abandoned ship and I promise I will try my hardest to make this the first complete work I've ever done.  
> And I thank everyone who has still stuck through it and left nice comments, it really means so much.  
> But without further ado, enjoy ~Xar

There was a bit of crackling to the air he never noticed before.

It took him a few moments, but slowly the dregs of his mind called up memories and reminded him it was called wind. The silent breath that caressed his face, that was normal.

He felt like shit.

There actually weren’t enough words in any language to describe how shitty he felt right now, but he had to force himself up. He had to remember. A small mote of panic rose in his throat as his breath grew ragged. What was his name? Where was he? As he struggled upward, a few red locks fell in front of his eyes.

 _Red…right…_ How could he forget his own name? Reno shook his head angrily, but stopped when the world reeled around him. His name was a floodgate and everything came rushing back to him, even though this feeling was unreal.

He didn’t remember anything. Well, all the shit about being a herald and mako destroying his body, on a godforsaken quest to save the Planet somehow despite the Turks were now treated like criminals, yes he did. But after falling to the forest ground and hearing Cloud call out his name, nothing.

And from what he knew of his other memory lapses, Reno really didn’t want to know what happened.

Aside from his racing thoughts, the scenery was peaceful. He could hear a flock of birds some distance away, quiet rustling of tree branches and if he concentrated hard enough, the gurgle of a stream. The grass was rough and natural against his exposed collarbone and he wanted to lay there forever.

But he couldn’t. He was a Turk, in the end and he had a job to do.

Wait, what job? It was something important, but he couldn’t remember…

Metal dug into his back as he stumbled forward, and a thousand images flashed into his mind. Black materia, Hojo…falling down forever, only to meet with soldiers-

“Cloud!” His voice sounded rusty, but it was definitely his voice. Where was Cloud? He had been right there where Reno landed, but now here, in this abandoned stretch of nature, he was the only thing.

“Fuck…” This wasn’t a good sign. Had his friend been taken away while he was unconscious, or was a whole chunk of time missing again? The black patch on his left eye remained as he swiveled his head, his red ponytail flopping back and forth. No sign of a dumb blonde-haired SOLDIER. No sign of anything.

“Fuck!” Having recovered much of his strength, he immediately kicked a rock, sending angry vibrations up his leg. It didn’t hurt, nothing did. He didn’t care about pain while he was angry. He had enough of scientists fucking with his life, and he swore it was going to end but-

He’d failed, right? Whether it was Minerva’s mandate, or his own free will, Cloud was gone.

But he was a Turk, and they always did their missions right.

Gloved hands tightened around his spear and the Crimson Devil took off into the forest, following the low tug in his heart that would lead him to where he needed to be.

* * *

Yuffie didn’t understand what was going on. She was only in it for the materia, but even this was getting tiresome just trapesing across the countryside. Where was this Forbidden City thing they had to go see? And why in the name of Leviathan did they HAVE TO GO ON A BOAT TO GET THERE?

The time she was not spending throwing up over the side, she spent curled up on the nearest horizontal object that could fit her, ruing the day she ever took this trip with Angeal and Miss Claudia and the others.

She had seen Angeal get a phone-call from someone that made him so angry he crushed his phone. When he talked to Miss Claudia and Tifa, they both looked like they were crying, and even the red demon jerk seemed angrier than normal. He’d set fire to a tree.

But they wouldn’t tell her no matter what. She asked and cajoled, but no one would say what was going on, so she just curled up on the table and kept her tears to herself. No one trusted her and she was stuck on a boat with no materia in sight. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see her parents again.

Angeal tried to speak to her a few times, but she refused to talk, not that she could with her motion sickness. She wouldn’t be deceived by his wicked ways! Not even Miss Claudia who seemed so upset that Yuffie got up and hugged her and let the blonde lady cry into her shoulder.

The place they had arrived at was called Bone Village, but she couldn’t care less if it was Midgar itself, as long as the ground didn’t move underneath her. After a couple more hours of being horizontal, her stomach finally felt fine, and she stared at Angeal as he revealed an item in his hands.

“I got us a Lunar Harp with the money we got from monsters. The men here were able to dig it up so we can proceed to the Forgotten City as soon as everyone feels up to it,” Angeal said, pointedly looking straight at the little ninja. She just pouted and didn’t make eye contact with him, so he just sighed and turned back to the rest of the group.

Genesis was nowhere to be seen, and Tifa and Miss Claudia both seemed ready to go. “Let’s just get going. We cant help anyone if we’re stuck right here!”

“You’re right Tifa. Zack and Aerith are waiting for us.” Angeal hefted his broadsword with him and turned towards the big forest, harp in hand. Yuffie padded silently after them, her eyes sharp for anything interesting.

The forest, once they reached the edge didn’t seem that cool either, just an impassable maze of trees and more trees. With one stroke of the Lunar Harp though, before her very eyes, the trees rustled and the shadows folded in on themselves, revealing a low lit path into its depths.

Big giant red-head jerk dropped from the sky in a rush of black feathers, only to stumble and fall into Angeal’s arms. He didn’t look good-in fact, he was less red and more grey. Feathers were shedding all over the ground and he had to hold onto Angeal to walk.

Yuffie almost took Miss Claudia’s and Tifa’s proffered hands, but bit her lip and swore to be brave. She was the feared ninja of Wutai and she would do something to prove to these guys that they were wrong for not telling her everything!

Only a few steps in and she was immediately distracted by a red glint off to the side of the path, slowly moving away from them. Materia? Or treasure?! Either way it had to be good. With all the stealth of her ninja heritage, she slipped away into the forest to chase after the elusive treasure.

* * *

 

Only a few weeks into the journey and Angeal got a phone call from one of the Turks that Sephiroth had fallen into madness. Cloud and Reno had disappeared without a trace and Hojo was behind it all.

Only a few weeks until Genesis realized what a failure this had been.

Who was he to keep faith in a broken and suffering world? Here he was, pain coursing through his body with every movement, falling apart from the inside. All of the poisonous J cells were gone and now the light that provided him hope, one that maybe he could be an angel of the Goddess, was gone as well.

And Sephiroth, _his dear friend, my friend why do you fly away now, to a world that abhors you and I?_

 _Why have you abandoned us again, to chase after a dream and a madness that was never yours?_ Monsters they were and monsters they would always be, a golden haired boy showed them what could’ve been.

But Sephiroth had the Black Materia now. What could they do? How was he to regain favor with the goddess and receive her blessing?

“Genesis..talk to me. I can’t lose you again. Are you okay?” Angeal’s voice broke through his self-pitying haze. His friend…how he was guilty of abandoning them all.

“I would think with one look that would be quite obvious, Angeal,” his hissed through narrowed teeth.

Angeal chuckled slowly. “Well, at least you still have your attitude. Don’t worry. We’re going to the Forgotten City and we’ll save you, I swear.”

But what about Angeal? Who would save him? And who would save Sephiroth? Genesis cared little for this world that had spat them out and treated them like tools, but his beloved two were in reach again and he just had to-

_You’re not a monster, Genesis._

Who had said that? Cloud, or Zack? Did it matter?

“Infinite in mystery…I will save you, I swear. And we will be reborn.”

The light up ahead grew brighter and brighter until they had arrived. A shimmering lake appeared before them, dressed in the soft green glow of the trees around them. Genesis hadn’t noticed, but they’d slowly faded into white and now the whole area was bathed in their light.

Behind the water, a twisted tree grew upwards, casting a silhouette onto the surface. Its boughs could only be described as delicate, but they looked as if they were made of crystal, not wood.

Truly a miracle of the Cetra.

And in the middle of it all, framed by the pouring silver, was a figure of a woman with a bow in her hair. She turned around, and Genesis was struck by her presence. He could tell. Her green eyes captured him.

She was an Ancient.

“Hello. We’ve been waiting for you,” Aerith said, smiling.

* * *

 

Reno stumbled and fell for the third time, and he couldn’t tell if it was due to his missing eye, or exhaustion.

The theory that he’d just woken up after the attack was blown completely out of the water when he discovered that not only were there no signs of dead bodies or battle near him, he was on the borders of an extremely jungly area. Mideel or Gongaga, it didn’t matter, because he already hated life enough.

There was a tug in his heart that told him the direction to go, even if he didn’t know it himself.  Reno couldn’t exactly describe it, but it was almost as if something was pulling him to the North.

But that wasn’t all. There was another stronger force pulling on him, far more urgent than the other. It was deeper-set, but all he had to do was quiet his mind for a moment and Reno just knew it was Cloud calling for help. They seemed to be soul bound, anyway, and hell if he wasn’t gonna answer.

That answered the question of where he needed to go. The rest of the world seemed to be unimportant right now, since nothing would work without the guy who made it all happen…

Oh, who was he kidding? Reno needed to save him. It. Was. His. Job. He dug his heels in and shot off, blazing a path through the forbidding forest, spiraling north, north, ever northward in search of his charge.

He ran. He would not fail.

* * *

 

Yuffie didn’t like the look of this forest. There were too many shadows for creepy things to hide in and while she totally didn’t want to go and run back and hide behind Miss Claudia or her bodyguard, she took very, very careful steps.

Unfortunately to her nerve wracked brain, every step echoed painfully with a crunch of leaves. She shook her head and slapped her cheeks a little bit. She was Yuffie Kisaragi, the princess of Wutai! She had nothing to fear. Besides, where did that materia-

The little red dot passed in front of her and she rocketed forward, hands scrambling through the grass and dead brush. It was fast for a materia, winding its way in a giant loop, but Yuffie was faster, and in no time, her tiny fingers wrapped around the cold, glowing red stone.

She eagerly brought it up to eye level, turning it this way and that. A red materia, those were summons! She squeaked with joy, hopping up and down on the spot. She was sooo lucky! Summons were the rarest and most powerful materia and here she stumbled on one just randomly wandering the woods. And by the little jolt of electricity it gave her, she figured out it was probably the Ramuh summon they had taught her about.

Treasuring this moment a bit more, she looked around, ready to go back and show the group only to discover…the woods had closed up behind her. She was alone. In the middle of the creepy woods.

 _It’s okay, right? I’m an awesome kunoichi and I have a materia now. There’s nothing to be afraid of, and there’s no monsters._ She still had her giant shuriken and a couple of knives she’d stolen from a store, so she wasn’t defenseless but…

Yuffie was starting to get worried.

She went into complete stealth mode after that like she did when trying to sneak out of the palace. Not a sound could be heard from her as she crept forward, looking for any visible landmark that would bring her back to the others. What if that harp thingy had run out and she was stuck here forever? No, Angeal and Claudia and Tifa would come looking for her. She clutched harder to the materia as she inched forward.

Yuffie couldn’t tell how much longer it was until she started hearing voices. At first she was excited that she had found people, but the elation didn’t last. These weren’t good people.

She climbed a tree to get a better vantage point but it was still too dark to see things really clearly. Pushing aside a few leaves, her eyes widened as she took in the makeshift camp just below.

There were a couple of people gathered around a small clearing with some really strange looking machines-that were really weapony-looking-and had big guns. What’s more, their outfits were all blue and grey and looked like they lit up. They weren’t mechanical people, but their outfits certainly were.

“You really think whatever’s in these woods is worth it?” A bored male voice said. The woman to his right answered him.

“I don’t know. Don’t care, but orders are orders. You know that, don’t you?” Her voice was smooth and angry, making Yuffie shiver. “The revival of those two goes against our plan. Besides, the Cetra will just get in our way.”

The Cetra? Who did they mean by that? The words sounded familiar, like Angeal had talked about it in passing, but Yuffie usually forgot anything not important. Figures it would be. But the other two, did they mean Angeal and red jerk? If so, they were going to have to answer to her. Nobody hurt her bodyguard.

“Come on. Back to base. This place is a maze without a Lunar Harp. We need to get another one.” The third one spoke up and then the people and machines started moving. Yuffie saw the opportunity and took it. Not only would it get her somewhere that wasn’t lost, but she could figure out what these clearly bad guys were doing. And then they would trust her.

She dropped down out the tree and followed the soldiers like a shadow.

* * *

 

Doctor Morrison looked at the sheet of this newest patient. _Another one?_ Recently, hospitals had been getting an influx of new patients with very strange symptoms. It couldn’t be coincidence that this all started when the Lifestream had burst from the earth around Midgar and mako pools started forming-even the local flora and fauna were being disturbed.

 _And now this…what does it mean?_ It was like the Planet was sick and it was starting to infect the living things on it. He was no scientist, he couldn’t figure it out. But something terrible was happening, he could feel it in his gut.

He knocked on the door gently and opened it, coming inside. The patient was a young woman in her twenties who normally bred chocobos, but after a close brush with a mako-infected monster, she started getting sick.

Her symptoms included dizziness, nausea, fainting, a sudden pain and discoloration in her left arm, mental instability, and hallucinations. It normally started out mildly but got quickly worse as the discoloration spread.

For now, she was sat up in bed, staring at the other side of the wall. “How are you feeling today?”

She didn’t answer, so he set down the clipboard and went to check her arm. Gently rolling up the sleeve, he went to check the bruise that had formed and involuntarily took a breath. It had grown far larger than in the photographs he was sent and now was seeping some black liquid. He called the nurses so they could bandage it and perhaps give her some painkillers, but she didn’t really seem to respond too much.

Had she lost all hope to live? Or…

“Um, is there anything you want to tell me?” Dr. Morrison asked, concerned.

“…It hurts. My arm hurts.”

“I know that. Don’t worry, we’ll give you something to help.”

She turned towards him, a few tears seeping out of the corners of her eyes. “Will it make the voices go away too?”

He choked on his own words. “V-voices?”

“I know, I must be going insane, but I can hear her. And it really hurts…” she slumped down onto the bed as the staff finally arrived.

She was the third one to say that to him. What was going on?

* * *

 

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

_Drip…………._

_He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t open his eyes, or move, or talk, or anything. All he could do was listen._

_Beep….._

_He became aware of his heartbeat. Not because he could feel it, but because the beeping told him somewhere, he was still alive. Was he? He couldn’t tell. What his name was, if he still was human…it was all a dream._

_Certainly he would pretend it was that way._

_Because if he woke up, he knew there would be pain._

_Pain, and voices, and needles and knives and mako and syringes and machines and_

_Pain_

_Where was he?_

_Reno? Reno…_

_Was Reno okay? That question floated on the green haze of his mind. He reached out with his bare soul and searched desperately. He knew that maybe he could find the red-head this way, like the last time, but there was nothing but an echo._

_Reno…_

_Where was everyone?_

_A finger twitched. Was it his finger?_

_…….._

_………._

_He didn’t seem to be floating anymore. In fact, he could_ feel his skin again. Was he alive? His mind was still floating in the green abyss, calling out to someone who wouldn’t answer.

He finally remembered his name and what brought him here. That horrible man, the one who scared him and terrified him into nightmares, the one who the very Planet had warned him of…

He was now his prisoner.

Sometimes he could hear someone calling him, a woman’s voice. It almost sounded like his mother, but it wasn’t. He knew it was his mother’s voice. Was this the same person that had been calling Sephiroth this entire time? Was this…Jenova?

He failed. Sephiroth had the black materia. He had failed as a guardian of the Planet. What use as a WEAPON was he now? He had failed his duty, and his dreams, and his friends…the ones who still hoped for him while he floated away from existence….

“Za….ck..”He felt his lips move. He heard his own voice. He was alive.

It was so cold here. It was like the one winter when he and his mother didn’t have enough money for heat, so they huddled in front of the fire. Couldn’t he have someone to do that? Couldn’t Zack-

If he concentrated hard enough, he could feel Zack’s hand in his. He could remember the little time they had in the cave, where Zack showed him how to work a fire materia and held him with strong and warm arms and told him it was okay, everything was okay, nothing would hurt you while I was here-

Why couldn’t he be here now? He curled in farther into himself, imagining the warmth of Zack’s light and never wanting to wake up again. It would be okay that way. His limbs were too heavy, and so were his eyes. If he concentrated, sometimes he could feel hands and the prick of needles. Voices, people doing things to his body.

But he was inside in his little world, protected by memories of his friends and a warm, Golden light. They couldn’t get him in here…

He desperately wanted to hold Zack’s hand again. To smell his mother’s food. To see the way Reno’s eyes lit up as he saw him return.

But he couldn’t. And despite desperately wanting to, Cloud had no tears left to cry.


	38. Things We Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say here other than the chapters will likely be this short now, since that seems to catch my attention the best. Course, now that SAI is no longer on my computer and i cant draw, I might be writing a lot more. Anyway, thanks for the continued patronage. Enjoy ~Xar

He kept running. The world felt like it was going to end, the ground crumbling under his feet, the very air coming to a halt, but if he stopped, he lost. It was a bet he had with the madman who started all of this.

Reno was not one to lose his bets, of course, which made him believe he actually had a chance.

In reality, he had absolutely no idea where he was going or where he was. The red-head was just following a hunch and what felt like a tug in the right direction. He couldn’t even begin to describe exactly what was pulling him, he just knew he had to get there. Someone needed his help.

Maybe that someone was Cloud, and maybe it was all just a giant trap set up by Hojo but at this point, Reno really didn’t have a choice, cut off as he was. He’d gladly chop off his ponytail for a chance to contact Tseng or Zack. But really, who would get a cell signal in the middle of the desert?

All the Shinra technology in the world wasn’t going to stop him now, and neither were the mako-crazed monsters that popped up every time he went even close to the open mako pools. It was all a matter of time before-

“Ugh!” He tripped and fell hard onto the ground, feeling rocks dig into his skin as he rolled to a stop. Pain lanced through his chest and as he tried to get up, it just got worse. “What…”

He coughed. He coughed and hacked until his throat was raw and blood was pooling under his mouth, a disgusting reminder of how far he’d fallen. Thinking that was it, he slowly started to push himself up, only to be thrown down again by the waves of agony coursing through his body.

Reno’s throat was already too raw from coughing to produce anything other than a raspy whisper, so he lay on the ground pitifully, breathing in, out, until maybe he’d finally die and the pain would leave him in peace.

Of course, that didn’t happen. His muscles trembled, all taut in exertion and he couldn’t even feel his own body anymore-it was like being dissolved in acid-nothing but the feeling of PAIN remained. Reno could almost dimly recall the red lion from Cosmo Canyon saying something about his body being affected by mako, but he didn’t rightly care. That didn’t matter to him anymore, that didn’t matter at all-

Soft fur touched his face, and it was the first thing to break through the haze of the red-head’s vision. Fur, silky and smooth, yet rough, as if it had weathered a thousand storms. It brushed against him and then a great weight settled next to his body. If he could imagine, it was almost as if the warmth this ball of fur brought eased the pain that wracked his entire body.

Slowly, it stopped grinding his bones into dust, seeping away until nothing but the gentle fur remained. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so at ease-maybe back when his brother was still alive. That’s right, Lee. Reno wondered vaguely what he’d be doing now, as his hands curled around the big wolf’s-

Wait a damn minute.

Reno opened his eyes.

A wolf?

He looked over and sure enough, a giant golden wolf had curled up beside him where he lay. Normally upon seeing this, he would’ve jumped up and yelled a few profanities, but right now he was lucky he could even make a choking noise.

The wolf opened its eyes and Reno found himself staring into a pair of large, beautiful blue circles. The hidden power in the wolf’s gaze captured him and he couldn’t help but gaze further, time drifting by them peacefully. They were so beautiful, and if he stared further, he could see different shades of blue, from the color of the sky to a deep navy, and the deep spark in them that told Reno this was more than just a mere animal.

Those eyes reminded him of someone, and a sense of nostalgia washed over him again. “Cloud, is that you?”

The wolf yawned and shook its fur, putting a paw up on the Turk’s head. He quieted down, wondering what was happening. No words were spoken, and its eyes didn’t even move, but Reno could feel it talking to him almost. He could feel it, somewhere really….deep.

It sounded strange, even to him, but he knew the answer to his question was yes. This wolf with shining fur and large blue eyes was almost certainly sent by his friend. “Are ya here to kick my ass into gear?”

The wolf pulled away its paw and instead nuzzled Reno’s face, licking his cheek. He twitched slightly at the wet, slobbery feeling, but he didn’t mind. Life was flowing back into his limbs and he could move. And that meant he could run. “Thanks there, big guy. Or should I call you little?”

The wolf gave him what could only be described as an affronted look, and Reno let out a weak laugh. “I’m guessing you’re the one pulling me to save you? Don’t worry, yo. I’m a Turk. You should know I never fail at my job. Besides, Zack would have my ass if anything ever happened to you.”

The wolf just stared, never blinking, as slowly, Reno made it up onto his own two legs. Just like he had before every single day of his life, he wasn’t going to quit now. Not while he could still move. “Right. You’re that way. Time to get going.”

It only took one blink and the wolf suddenly vanished, leaving Reno with the sudden feeling like it had all been a dream. Had he been hallucinating? Was this wolf even real, or was he talking to his own mind?

But he supposed that since he was the Goddess-proclaimed herald to the human WEAPON of all things, wearing fancy armor and could sprout a wing out of his shoulder, he could let some things go.

* * *

 

Genesis couldn’t speak for a few moments, but Aerith seemed to understand and just extended a hand. “I’ve been waiting all along.”

He stepped forward almost dreamily, until a large Zack-shaped shadow blocked his path. The puppy was looking unusually serious, almost like a mini-Angeal with the Buster Sword at his back.

“Don’t you dare try anything funny. I still don’t trust you,” Zack said, hand threateningly on his hilt.

“Is that a challenge, pup? Even in this state, I could put an end to your ways,” Genesis sneered, reaching to gesture threateningly, only to have his knees collapse from underneath him. There was a blur, and suddenly he felt strong arms around him, only they weren’t Angeal’s.

“I feel sorry for you,” He mumbled. “Sephiroth kept complaining to me about how his two friends had abandoned him, though he didn’t really say it out loud.”

Genesis’ hand tightened on the boy’s shoulder. “But everyone deserves a second chance. You didn’t deserve what the world gave you.”

Zack’s voice faded away as another pair of arms embraced and lifted him, and this time he knew it was Angeal. The man was hurting, both inside and out, and yet how did he find the energy to hold him so gently? Genesis could barely keep his eyes open.

“It’s okay, Zack. We’ll all be okay,” Aerith’s clear voice rang out as she gestured to Angeal to bring them closer.

“Is this why you wanted to come here?” Zack asked.

“Hmmm, a little. But I could feel something calling me here so I had to figure out the answers for myself.”

Zack seemed like he wanted to say more, but just left it at that.

Water splashed somewhere below him, and Genesis felt like he was floating almost, until the first drops touched his skin. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see blurry figures by the lakeside, but they didn’t matter. No one did now but him and Angeal and the Ancient.

Angeal was murmuring something above him, but Genesis finally allowed his eyes to close as they treaded further into the water. The way Angeal was carrying him, he slowly sank instead of splashing, and it was a calming, wonderous feeling. The water lapped at his fingers and hair, and he drifted off in its soft embrace.

“Why are we here?” Angeal said somewhere above him. It felt like they were all floating.

“I…I can’t really say myself. But the Planet says this is a holy place. Here we can cure both of you from your taint, I know it!” Aerith’s voice sounded just a little bit defiant.

“I’ll…take your word for it. As long as he can live again.”

Gentle hands touched his face. “Genesis, do you hear me? I’m gonna start praying now. You need to do that too. Just let the Lifestream hear what your heart has to say.”

Any other day he may have laughed at her words, but somehow he always held onto things like that. Praying a little before they went on a dangerous mission, opening his heart to the Lifestream and trying to hear its guidance. He was a fool for trying and believing, but he wanted someone to tell him what to do. What he needed to do to be the hero he always dreamed of.

And now, as the soft light enveloped him, the world faded away and he was left only with the sound of ripples and his own heartbeat. Pray? He’d long forgotten how to do that.

Did it sound like a letter? Or a wish? Maybe an order, or a request…

_Hey, are any of you listening? I feel really weird doing this but, it’s the only thing I have left._

_Infinite in mystery is the gift of the goddess-_

_We seek it thus and take to the sky-_

_Ripples form on the water’s surface-_

**_The wandering soul knows no rest._ **

**Child, you can sleep here.**

_Is that you? I didn’t think that would work. Huh, I must be a bigger fool than I thought._

**_Can you not feel the water, can you not feel the heart of the Cetra and beloved who brought you here? My, humans are so demanding._ **

_Maybe if you did not let the world fall to this state, we wouldn’t be. I have lost faith in it, in living, and all of you. I put my faith in LOVELESS, and what did I get?_

**_If you hate me so much, then why did you cling so closely to words that spoke of me?_ **

_I never rightly knew. I never knew why the words to LOVELESS struck me so, only that the first time I had read the weathered, red-covered book, it was like my heart could burn anew again. I lived and I could understand each word and I cried more than ever before. It spoke of the three brothers and the gift of the Goddess, and with that I knew that even one such as me could truly be saved._

**_He spoke of things similar to that too, little angel. Do you perhaps know my most precious child?_ **

**_He is my SOLDIER._ **

**_He is my beloved._ **

**_And yet, he hates the fate I have given him._ **

**_I-_ **

_Something about her voice sounded awfully sad, tinged with regret and in a faltering moment, it sounded just like the Ancient’s. Far off, he could hear her talking, almost singing to herself. It was like a light, shining of hope and forgiveness, attempting to connect the bridge between the world and the Goddess herself._

_Is this what praying was? Or was he truly dying?_

_“I offer to thee my silent sacrifice, and yet it is not enough? Why do you always reject me?!” He no longer sounded aloof, but a child crying out to his abandoned parents._

**_You denied me first. Becoming beholden of her? How could you. And calling yourself a monster with cursed wings…_ **

_You are cruel beyond words, fair goddess, sometimes._

**_That may be true, but it is my world and She endeavors to destroy it. Humans are the ants that are poisoning me and killing Me. Why should I hold their prayers close? Why should I choose to-_ **

_Because I love you anyways._

_His hands shifted and he felt like he was embracing a powerful, burning light. A face flashed in his mind, of beautiful golden hair and fair light skin. A crown of light and metal on her head, but her normally impassive expression was darkened with loss and abandonment._

_Can you not hear the pleas of your subjects? Can you not feel the pure heart of your Ancient? Did you not say that your precious child was the one who brought me this far? I’m sorry and all I seek is your forgiveness. I am truly a monster but-_

_“Everyone deserves a second chance.”_

_“You once were LOVELESS, but now it is your turn to become beloved.”_

_Minerva smiled._

_Genesis felt his heart fill with light that expanded beyond his chest, opening up to the whole world._

Unbeknownst to him, the soft water of the lake began to glow gently, filling the air with a soft light, similar to the aura the trees gave off. Angeal, Claudia, and Tifa held their breath, the SOLDIER holding his eyes tight against the growing brightness.

It felt like it was scorching his very soul and he could almost hear Genesis’ voice speaking to him from far away. He squinted as it grew more piercing, burning through his skull, and the very water around them lit up with an unearthly glow.

Aerith no longer appeared human, apparently, but it didn’t matter. Bit by bit, Angeal could feel the darkness peeled off of him, like feathers falling from his wings until nothing else remained. Was this a blessing? He kept his grip on his friend, the only thing linking him to this world-if nothing else, he would be with Genesis till the end.

And even though it gradually began, the transformation stopped, leaving Angeal breathless. Slowly his eyes creaked open, and even if a soft light remained, the water was back to normal. Was everything okay?

A pool of black feathers surrounded the three, floating as idly as leaves did. Had they all come from…”Genesis?”

Angeal wasted no time in searching out his friend. The way the light hit the water, it almost looked as if he had a halo and the veteran SOLDIER was struck by his face. He looked so…young. So peaceful, as if he had slept this way for years. No longer were the lines of war and hatred drawn on his face. _Could it be?_

Genesis’ eyes slowly opened, a piercing blue as always. “An…geal?”

A small hand, not his own, covered his friend’s forehead and Angeal jumped, nearly having forgotten Aerith was there. He looked at her and she seemed no different, except for the tears pouring out of her eyes. “It’s okay now, it’s really okay, thank you.”

“I’m here. Everyone is,” He said, letting out a smile.

Genesis’ mouth moved, but he spoke so softly Angeal couldn’t hear the words. “What was that?”

“….for we are beloved of the Goddess….”

And for him, it all clicked. What Aerith was doing, why he could no longer feel the tiredness that weighed down his bones. They had been healed.

Genesis’ eyes closed, and for the first time in a very long time, he was able to sleep.

* * *

 

“So you’re telling me it’s useless to go in there right now?”

Yuffie didn’t like this cupboard. It was way too small, way too high up, and way too stuffy, but she needed to do what ninjas did best. And right now it was spying on the Deepground thugs that had been following her. She clutched the Ramuh summon close to her chest as she strained her ears for more tidbits.

“It’s the Forbidden City for a reason, moron. No Lunar Harp, no go.” Short Angry man said. Lady was talking to him right now and she seemed incredulous about the whole deal.

“We’re here to do a job, not complain about useless shit! Look, this is more important that the rest of it, okay? We’re trying to track down renegade terrorists of all things! Dangerous ones too, though now that I think about it, I should just let them kill you,” She sneered.

“Jenova’s out infecting the world, Shinra is manipulated from the shadows by their wish for the Promised Land, and Sephiroth’s gone crazy, right?” Deep-voice man drawled. Yuffie hid a gasp. What was this about poisoning the world? And the Demon of Wutai going crazy? These weren’t things she knew about!

“Yeah, so what about it?”

“Why are these guys so important?” Deep-voice man asked.

“BeCAUSE, they’re the only ones who would be able to stop Sephiroth and Hojo doesn’t want that, now does he? Deepground was activated so there wouldn’t be any resistance and activate Omega if all else failed,” Angry man yelled back.

Omega? What was that? And she KNEW that that creepy old man had to be behind all of this, from what her bodyguard said.

“Yeah. So send some grunts after them, that’ll work. We may be mako-enhanced but I don’t want a death wish,” Lady said.

“So confident in our abilities, I see. All we need is to strike when they are down. And those two renegade SOLDIERs are looking pretty beat about now. It’s perfect.”

Yuffie growled inwardly. How DARE they threaten her bodyguard! AND Miss Claudia and Tifa and Zack and Aerith were with the group and she didn’t want them to get hurt either. Not on her watch.

This was about more than just Wutai now. It was about her friends and the world, because without the world there would be less people and less materia and it would be sad.

“Oh, got radioed in. Seri got the dumb Harp we needed. Time to get the done and go report back to the main legion,” Lady droned.

Okay, Yuffie had a new goal now, and she knew they would take her seriously after this. First, she had to get out of this cupboard…

“WARNING. INTRUDER ALERT. WARNING: INTRUDER ALERT. UNAUTHORIZED PERSONS DETECTED.”

Well, shit.

* * *

 

Eating wasn’t important in this body. Sleeping wasn’t, and stopping certainly wasn’t either. In fact, Reno could feel something nasty happening in his future, but that didn’t really matter. His job needed to be done.

The pain was there, and occasional, but nothing as bad as before. There was just the clack of his shoes against the rocks and the breath of the wind as it passed by. Occasional bouts would be spent flying, but that taxed his energy like no other, so he mostly stuck to the land.

He could tell he was heading north, into the mountains, but the exact location didn’t matter. The little tug in his soul did and with every mile that passed, he knew he was getting closer.

Reno’s eye didn’t even bother him much anymore. It still weirded him out that he couldn’t see out of the left side of his face, but honestly, he’d had worse and survived. He adapted like always and came on top.

He didn’t know how long it took, but eventually, after long hours of crawling around like a goat on the side of a mountain, he found a strange building nestled in a valley between two huge rock figures.

“Finally…” he breathed out, a sneer reaching his lips. The spear on his back practically vibrated with excitement, and he knew he’d finally get to have fun. Reno took one step forward before a gloved hand shot out, stopping him.

“Wait a moment.” A deep voice told him, and Reno turned, only to see Vincent Valentine standing there in all of his glory. He jumped, letting out a strangled noise before gathering his wits together.

“What? What the hell are you doing here?!”

“Same as you. I sensed him.”

Reno gave him a pissed off look. Did this guy hear anything that went on after he took off from Cosmo Canyon? Despite the man being a Turk, he somehow doubted it, but if Vincent wasn’t going to question him, that was fine by him.

He kneeled down, trying to peer closer with his enhanced vision. The ceiling was probably the best place to enter, if he was looking for the most surprise…

“You say you sensed him, but how the hell did you do that?” Reno asked, his curiousity piqued.

“Do you not recall what was said about Chaos? About how I knew what Cloud was?”

Had…something like that happened? His memory had been getting fuzzy patches recently. And strangely enough, if he concentrated hard enough, he could feel another presence inside Vincent as well. Something dark and primal…pulsing as the Lifestream did.

Right. All that shit about WEAPONS and heralds. Whatever.

“Let’s cut the chatter and rescue Cloud.”

“….”

Reno looked up at him, asking a silent question, but Vincent merely closed his glowing eyes.

“I won’t fall to my sins a second time.”

“Yeah, me neither. Let’s go.”

The twin angels of death took off to rain terror on the building below.

* * *

 

_His golden fence is what kept his mind intact, even with the Calamity and the maddening needles that ate at it all this time. Inside that, Cloud found out he could float, almost. The world didn’t look like anything he knew, but it was almost as if he could leave his body and seek out hearts that he knew._

_He felt his mother cry and Tifa. He knew the pain Genesis was going through and all Angeal did to keep him from knowing he felt the same way. He knew how Vincent tirelessly searched for all the ways to absolve his sins, and how Reeve sat at his desk, furiously deciding what next to do. What next to tell._

_He knew her taint, and could feel it spreading, as her voice grew louder in his head. He couldn’t-he didn’t want to let her keep going, but he had no choice. His voice and his body were paralyzed._

_He even knew of Sephiroth, cradled up north with the Black materia, but he didn’t know what he was doing. What he was think. All Cloud knew was that he had failed. Somehow, his soul had cried out in this torment, trying to reach anyone who could hear._

_And as it returned, it brought back a heart full of torture and misery. Reno._

_He tried his best to lift his fingers and brush them against his beloved friend’s mind, to offer what little comfort he could. “You said you’d find me, right? Please don’t tell me you’ve given up.”_

_Cloud had run out of tears to cry and he couldn’t take much more. Thoughts of Zack were barely keeping him from hanging on in this state and no matter how many prophecies of Golden WEAPONS and Kings existed, they would mean nothing if he was shattered into pieces._

_But somehow his feelings went through. Maybe slowly, like a trickle, but he could feel it upon the edge of his boundaries. His cries had awoken the Crimson Devil and Chaos, and they were coming for him._

His icy-blue eyes snapped open.


End file.
